At the University of Bayreuth, there are already numerous initiatives, activities and institutions that address the challenges in the area of climate protection and sustainability. These include, for example, the sustainability strategy of the University of Bayreuth, which was adopted in 2021, but also the establishment of a presidential commission responsible for sustainability issues. With the sustainability office "GreenCampus", forum1.5, a platform that advocates for a climate-friendly future in Bayreuth and Upper Franconia, the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and various dialogue formats, the activities are supported from the university side.
The project was officially launched on 22 May 2023 at a kick-off event in Berlin, where representatives of the nine projects funded by the Stifterverband were able to network and learn from each other. 42 projects applied for support in the programme. For the selected projects, the task now is to work out a vision for the future in a one-year process and to develop concrete measures with which the necessary changes can be initiated. For the cooperation project between the university and the city of Bayreuth, this means creating a transformative mobility concept for the campus and the region and promoting various measures for the change to sustainable mobility. For this purpose, the university management, forum1.5 and the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation are working together with the city of Bayreuth, which is acting as a regional partner in the project with the help of Sebastian Norck, the local mobility officer from the city planning office.
"No single institution can make the transition to sustainable mobility on its own. In its sustainability strategy, the university has set itself the goal of promoting sustainable mobility by improving public transport, e-charging and cycling infrastructure. However, a real improvement can only succeed in cooperation with the city of Bayreuth. We want to use the guided process of the Stifterverband to work out joint potentials and new ideas for sustainable mobility at the university and in the city and region of Bayreuth in a real lab," says Prof. Dr Susanne Tittlbach, Vice President for Digitalisation, Innovation and Sustainability at the University of Bayreuth.
The project can build on a wide range of preliminary work that addresses the challenges in the area of climate protection and sustainability. These include, for example, the sustainability strategy of the University of Bayreuth, which was adopted in 2021, and the climate protection concept of the city of Bayreuth, which was adopted by the city council in 2022. In addition, there are numerous activities on the part of both the university and the city that have synergies with the project. The sustainability office "GreenCampus" and forum1.5, a platform that advocates for a climate-friendly future in Bayreuth, should be mentioned here, as well as the city-wide mobility concept that is currently being prepared.
"The project is intended to have a pilot character. The strategies and measures that are being developed can be a model for other large institutions such as the hospital, authorities and commercial enterprises in our city," says Lord Mayor Thomas Ebersberger.
