Forster Summer School 2024 explores – sustainable future Concepts, conditions, chances

Let's talk about global change.

This year, the summer school at our Faculty took place for the fifth time, from 19.07.2024 - 30.07.2024. 19 students from 15 nations (Austria, Bosnia, Canada, Egypt, England Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Slovakia, South Korea and Turkey spent 10 days at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

Topic

Forster Summer School 2025 was dedicated to the research topic "Sustainable future" entitled "Forster Summer School explores – sustainable future. Concepts, conditions, chances.In 2015, 193 nations agreed on a groundbreaking agenda at the UN General Assembly the 2030 Agenda. Its official title is "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development". The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were set to enable a decent life worldwide and at the same time preserve the natural foundations of life in the long term." With only 6 years left to achieve these goals, the interdisciplinary and international group turned its attention to fundamental questions such as

What must, what can each individual do today and in the future to live sustainably? What sustainable measures can we take as a community today and in the future? What anchoring is required at a structural level - socially, economically and politically - in order to counter the limited availability of natural resources such as water, energy and food?

 

In different kind of settings, the students discussed current scientific positions and sustainability concepts from multiple perspectives with experts from the fields of chemistry, geography, geosciences and others. They examined development endeavors and uncovered limitations, identified opportunities for shaping a sustainable future and generated approaches for action.

Scientific, cultural and linguistic program

The program was wide-rangingand consisted of scientific lectures, talks and discussions, practical exercises, laboratory visits and scientific excursions. During the laboratory visits to the Department of Chemistry, the students learned about time-resolved optical spectroscopy and the physical chemistry of polymers. The scientific excursion to Bingen University of Applied Sciences  focused on regenerative energy management and supply (e.g. ice storage system), a project carried out in a research cube in form of a “Tiny House”. While sustainable utopias were designed in a talk, the students had the opportunity to discover sustainable work and livings places as well as sustainable urban development concepts as part of a guided high-rise building tour in Frankfurt.  A sustainable city rally in the city of Mainz, a campus tour, German Language Workshops, Climate Escape Games by the Zukunftsnetzwerk of JGU and student group projects concerning sustainable/faire trade labeling rounded up the varied program. The excursion and accompanying program led to intensive networking among the group and joint exploration of regional highlights.

 

Testimonials and feedback from the participants

 

"I truly appreciated the opportunity to engage with such a diverse group of participants, including the inspiring speakers and fellow students I met. Exploring new topics andideas from different disciplines under the umbrella of sustainability was refreshing.The insights and knowledge gained during the program have been invaluable. I’m also grateful for the support from the student assistants, who were key in making the experience even more enriching. I’m excited to continue applying what I’ve learned and am interested in exploring further opportunities at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz."

Ali, Urban and Regional Planning B.Sc., Cairo University, Egypt 

 

 

 

 

"I think Forster Summer School is a great opportunity to enrich my personal knowledge and also to meet new people with different backgrounds and different cultures."

Chiara, Food Sciences and techologies, B.Sc. University of Parma, Italy

 

 

 

Other participant voices:

“Learning more about the geothermal and green hydrogen topics was very helpful for my current studies.”

“It allowed me to gain more confidence when travelling and being out. Also gaining friends from around the world. I also learned about sustainable chemistry which I have never encountered before."

The Faculty 09 expressly thanks the Dres. Göbel Climate Foundation for the financial support to implement the event in this extent.

Fotos: © Rilling © Schellack