Joint sustainable ENLIGHT projects

With the support of ENLIGHT+ and/or national funds, the members of the ENLIGHT Green Network have initiated a number of sustainability-related projects to analyse sustainability in ENLIGHT and at the participating universities, and to develop and implement measures. The current ENLIGHT projects of the Green Network are listed below.

GreENLIGHT

The GreENLIGHT project is driving student engagement on sustainability and will ‘green-light’ the development of student sustainability leaders across the ENLIGHT partners (Galway, Bern, Bordeaux, Bratislava, Göttingen). Each partner has identified a student leader in their university and will fund them to organise student engagement events on sustainability. Some of the events will be held online and will be open to students from all ENLIGHT partners. The student leaders share their experiences with one another and with the ENLIGHT Green Network. The student leaders will meet one another online at regular intervals during the 25/26 academic year and will meet in person towards the end of the academic year.

Green Labs

Sustainable initiatives in laboratories have been gaining increasing momentum at ENLIGHT universities (Groningen, Bordeaux, Galway, Göttingen, Uppsala). However, there is limited knowledge exchange and sharing of challenges and best practices within ENLIGHT. This initiative aims to establish a “Green Labs Network” within ENLIGHT to foster collaboration and information sharing
Main components are:

i) make an inventory of green labs organizations within the 10 ENLIGHT universities: here we request support in kind from the ENLIGHT coordinating offices from each university (4h per university) + 2h extra (so 6h in total) for the Green Office Groningen to make the overview. If some universities do not yet have such initiatives, see iii).

ii) connect all these Green Labs teams (online meeting / symposium where people present what has been done at each university). Depending on which university is the most active on this front, and has the most capacity to support it, one ENLIGHT university takes the lead in this. In kind support from the ENLIGHT coordinating offices from each university (2h).

iii) share best practices within the existing teams and spread tips on how to start to the universities which do not have such teams yet; no or minimal support needed.

iv) organize an event after ca. 1 year to see the progress made by i) sharing best practices and ii) helping establish Green Labs teams if they were not present; financial support will be needed to organize the event + in kind of the ENLIGHT coordinating office from the organizing university. An option would be to incorporate it in a Staff Week. v) participants will be asked to look at funding possibilities (e.g. local, national or EU level) to sustain this initiative (mostly to organize future events, the daily operations will be done by the local Green Labs and ENLIGHT teams).

CARBON

As carbon budgeting and pricing systems could be a promising measure to gradually and economically reduce carbon emissions of universities, particularly in the areas of energy, mobility and procurement, the partners (Göttingen, Bordeaux, Bratislava, Galway, Groningen and Uppsala) want to gather experience of existing systems and build up expertise.

As part of the project, a comprehensive research on carbon budgeting and pricing systems will be carried out. Based on this, universities and corresponding experts who have already installed such systems at their universities will be identified.

In several virtual workshops, selected external experts will be invited to share their experiences of successfully implemented systems at their universities with the ENLIGHT partners. If appropriate, external consultants from commercial companies will also be involved in these events. This will provide the ENLIGHT partners with comprehensive information on the advantages and disadvantages connected with the introduction of such systems.

University Gardens for Learning and Collaboration

This initiative aims to foster knowledge exchange between the four universities in area of developing university community gardens. The project focuses on the exchange of knowledge on the creation and management of community gardens in the university environment, and organic cultivation practices within these gardens, promoting sustainability, community engagement, and practical education in gardening. By leveraging the expertise and resources of each participating university, this initiative will create a collaborative network that enhances the learning experiences of students, supports community wellness, and contributes to local environmental stewardship.

The initiative involves these key components:
1. Knowledge Exchange Workshops: Each university will host a workshop focusing on different aspects of community gardening. Topics will include community garden creation, community garden management, and gardening practices. These workshops will be led by members of the community gardens at the universities, ensuring exchange of practical experience.
2. Collaborative Garden Projects: Students from the participating universities will work together on joint garden projects. These projects will include the design and establishment of a new garden plots, the revitalization of existing garden plots, and the implementation of organic gardening practices. This hands-on collaboration will allow students to apply the knowledge gained from workshops and share their experiences and insights with their peers.

Exploring the Inner Development Goals

The initiative, titled “Exploring the Inner Development Goals (IDGs),” is a two-day congress hosted by the University of Groningen in collaboration with its Green Office. This event aims to raise awareness about the IDGs and their transformative potential in addressing global challenges related to sustainability, inclusivity, and personal growth.

The IDGs provide a framework for developing essential skills and qualities, from both an individual as well as a collective perspective. When increasing human growth, this empowers organizations and institutions to drive sustainable development. The congress aligns with the ENLIGHT network’s mission of promoting collaboration and innovation across partner universities to tackle pressing societal challenges.

The congress will bring together students, faculty, and staff from ENLIGHT partner universities, as well as local organizations, to construct two days of advanced learning and engaging dialogues. Each participating university will arrange for five lecturers to partake. Participants will explore practical ways to integrate the IDGs into their academic, professional, and personal lives, to be able to contribute to a systemic change in education, and society as a whole.

The Four Seasons in (Climate) Change – Documentary and Concert

Inspired by current and projected climate data and already visible consequences of climate change on flora and fauna, Antonio Vivaldi's work "The Four Seasons" was reinterpreted by composers of the Detmold University of Music in cooperation with the Göttingen Baroque Orchestra and ENLIGHT researchers. The new composition "The Four Seasons in (Climate) Change" premiered in 2022 in concert at the University of Göttingen. The video documentary is published on YouTube.

In the conversation concert "The Four Seasons in (Climate) Change", the audience experienced the effects of climate change on the seasons through scientific impulses and the newly interpreted music. The Göttingen Baroque Orchestra and soloist Hyewon Kim impressed the audience under the direction of Antonius Adamske. In each concert movement, researchers from the Department of Bioclimatology led by Prof. Alexander Knohl explained the influence of climate change on the respective season, and the team of composers led by Prof. Mark Barden described how they took the scientific findings into account in the new composition. The concert recording can be experienced again online on YouTube.

All videos are published on https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgoiCMgV-zrdGW4QVInd8SLY3bpd1tEj9