BTU overview
Faculty 5
Chair of Sociology of Technology and the Environment Prof. Dr. phil. Melanie Jaeger-Erben

BTU4future – Participative climate protection

Since summer semester 2022 there is the transdisciplinary module "BTU4future" – open for all students who want to deal with climate protection and sustainable development in a very practical way!

In the summer semester 2023, the FÜS module "BTU4Future" will take place every Wednesday from 15:30 – 19:00: 13710 - BTU4future - Transdisciplinary Module for Climate Protection and Sustainable Development

BTU4future logo

Core idea and objective

At the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, research is being conducted in various disciplines on climate protection as well as sustainable development. Whether the project of sustainable development succeeds, however, depends not least on whether the manifold interconnections of climate change and social injustice are understood in their complexity. This requires suitable teaching formats that illuminate the problem of the climate crisis as an interdisciplinary cross-cutting issue and translate it into concrete knowledge for action.

The teaching project "BTU4future - Climate Protection Participatively" develops an innovative didactic concept that bundles inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives and competencies and encourages, supports and actively involves the broadest possible student body as central shapers of sustainable development.

I will recommend this module to other students because of the active project work and the chance to help shape the university. It would be desirable if more projects and modules of this kind were offered at the university."(Course participant from the winter semester 2022/ 23)

In order to strengthen participation and practical relevance, a project workshop was set up: students should be motivated to discover their own creative spaces and to develop educational and action formats co-creatively in small groups. The aim of the project workshop is for students to develop a critical understanding of universities as actors/locations for sustainable development and then to conceive and implement their own climate protection project ideas.

"The topics of the lecture series are very diverse and people from different courses are motivated to work together on something." (Course participant from summer semester 2022)

I met a lot of cool students with whom it was possible to implement a good idea." (Course participant from summer semester 2022)

Our local practice partners:

  • BTU's Information, Communication and Media Center (IKMZ/MMZ)
  • Fridays for Future Cottbus
  • Architects for Future Cottbus
  • Fablab Cottbus
  • Network of open workshops
  • Green University Group StuRa

What has happened so far?

The teaching project "BTU4future - participatory climate protection" has already successfully run through two semesters (SoSe22 + WiSe22/23). In the first run of the project, the focus was on the examination of one's own university as an actor of sustainable development and it initially remained with individual interventions by the students (including co-designing the Car-Free Campus Day). In the second run, concrete project ideas were developed and implemented. For example, the student bicycle self-help workshop was reopened, the student university garden GUMNO was strengthened with human power, and a healthy snack vending machine was opened on campus. In collaboration with the department, students set up the 2-day BTU4future festival in February 2023, where interactive actions were used to exchange ideas about the connections between humans, animals, the environment and technology.

MINT CHALLENGE Award

Award

In March 2023, the BTU4future module was awarded as a "Best Practice" project within the 5th MINTChallenge.
AWARD

Media reports on the lecture series in the summer semester 2022

"The officers and their research gave a super insight into where one's own journey could go in research - contacts were made from this and it was generally very encouraging." (Course participant from summer semester 2022)

Reports on the festival as a conclusion of the module in the winter semester 2022/2023

On the car-free university day, part of the summer semester 2023