HOCH-N Network Day

In regards to their importance for the implementation of sustainability in the areas of education, research and management we distinguish between five dimensions of governance:

• Politics
• Profession
• Organization
• Knowledge
• Public

We ask actors from the different Higher Education Institutions in our network in guided interviews about the specifications of these attributes. The results are used to develop profiles of governance for sustainability which are specific to Higher Education Institutions. The derived experiences for process and implementation help in the exchange and create a stimulus for the further development process. Furthermore we aim to identify typical constellations of debilitating and conductive institutional constitutions for sustainability governance at Higher Education Institutions.

• Presentation (PDF)

Freie Universität Berlin
Prof. Dr. Inka Bormann
Benjamin Kummer (benjamin.kummer"AT"fu-berlin.de)

Universität Vechta
Prof. Dr. Marco Rieckmann
Mara Bauer (mara.bauer"AT"uni-vechta.de)

The HOCH^N network provides effective support for universities by further developing existing sustainability reporting standards and indicator sets. The aim is to report in a detailed and professionalized manner in accordance with international standards. The German Sustainability Code (DNK) of the German Council for Sustainable Development is used as the basic framework. To facilitate application for universities, the DNK is further developed and modified for the specific requirements of universities (HS-DNK).

The area of activities "sustainability reporting" is divided into two working phases. In the first phase the Universität Hamburg and the Freie Universität Berlin will test the newly developed HS-DNK. In the second phase design parameters for a first German university-specific reporting standard will be developed. The Universität Hamburg and the University Duisburg-Essen will take the lead in the second phase.

Find out more information on the DNK website,

• Workshop summary (PDF)

Universität Hamburg
Prof. Dr. Alexander Bassen
PD Dr. Remmer Sassen (remmer.sassen"AT"wiso.uni-hamburg.de)

Freie Universität Berlin
Prof. Dr. Gerhard de Haan
Coco Klußmann (klussmann"AT"institutfutur.de)

University of Duisburg Essen
Prof. Dr. Andre Niemann
Elisa Gansel (elisa.gansel"AT"uni-due.de)

In the HOCH^N network research is being conducted on how the existing knowledge about and experiences with Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) within the universities can be better diffused and used in teaching. In doing so, different levels must be differentiated:

• Explicit sustainability degree courses
• Subject curricula
• Interdisciplinary area

The resulting guide will link the developments in the modernization of academic teaching with the requirements of ESD, which are not necessarily parallel. Additionally the guide will describe ‒ closely linked to the governance field of action ‒ how curricula can be modified in order to permanently offer sustainability courses. In addition, crosslinking with the field of research is relevant in order to elaborate the dimension of research-based learning and to reach the aim of linking teaching and research to ESD.

• Poster (PDF)

Universität Bremen
Prof. Dr. Georg Müller-Christ
Merle Tegeler (tegeler"AT"uni-bremen.de)

Universität Tübingen
Prof. Dr. Thomas Potthast
Leonie Bellina (leonie.bellina"AT"izew.uni.tuebingen.de)

Through targeted research, universities can generate insights into the global humanitarian development towards sustainability. They thus play an important role in the transformation towards a sustainable society.

In the context of research, HOCH^N is partially based on the results of the LeNa project as well as other related projects (e.g. TransImpact or Res-AGorA). In the LeNa project, concepts and criteria for socially responsible research and the implementation of sustainability into research have been developed for non-university research institutions. The question is how these approaches and criteria are to be transferred onto universities and whether modifications are necessary.

In addition, the current state of the scientific discussion as well as the practical implementation of sustainability-oriented research at both national and international Higher Education Institutions shall be integrated in the process.

• Presentation (PDF)

Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
Prof. Dr. Daniel Lang
Judith Kahle (judith.kahle"AT"leuphana.de)

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Prof. Dr. Markus Vogt
Lara Lütke-Spatz (info"AT"nachhaltigehochschule.de)
Christoph Weber (ch.weber"AT"lmu.de)

Universities – as well as schools, government agencies, companies and other institutions – are organizations whose everyday operations have direct and indirect effects on other societal actors in ecological, economic and social terms. However, in the reality of university operations, long and inefficient process chains often occur. Guidelines by directives or ordinances of the federal state, the Länder or the Constitution ("Freedom of Research and Teaching") may be at odds with the sustainable operation of a university, e.g. when new fields of research are very energy-intensive.

The first step is to systematically identify studies that deal with the direct contribution of university operations to its sustainability performance. The synthesis of the research results is divided into the four primary activities of the value chain: procurement, production, sales and disposal, each with their five secondary activities. Particular attention is paid the peculiarities of universities in contrast to other institutions.

• Poster (PDF)

Technische Universität Dresden
Prof. Dr. Edeltraud Günther
Anne-Karen Hüske (anne-karen.hueske"AT"tu-dresden.de)
Nicolas Roos (nicolas.roos"AT"tu-dresden.de)

Hochschule Zittau-Görlitz
Prof. Dr. Bernd Delakowitz
Andreas Bulcsu (a.bulcsu"AT"hszg.de)
Eric Schön (e.schoen"AT"hszg.de)

Public institutions such as Higher Education Institutions are facing a growing demand to serve the public good. Contributions to teaching, research and a “third mission" are defined in their policies. Such activities can be called transfer-activities, which means the mutual exchange of knowledge, ideas, services, technologies and experience between Higher Education Institutions and external actors from the economy, politics, public sector, culture, and civil society on a level playing field. Transfer creates additional benefit between the involved partners inside of a society.

The concept of transfer for sustainable development is not well researched and seldom practiced explicitly. This is why the research team for transfer in the HOCH^N project is exploring this by investigating actors, formats, conditions and obstacles as well as describing good practice examples.

The results of the research will be validated by experts to derive an analytical framework for transfer in sustainable development. Building on that it will be possible to conduct systematic empirical research and infer recommended actions for Higher Education Institutions.

• Presentation (PDF)

Hochschule für Nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde (HNE)
Prof. Dr. Benjamin Nölting
Nadine Dembski (Nadine.Dembski"AT"hnee.de)

Further members of the team:
Prof. Dr. Heike Molitor, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Pfriem, Prof. Dr. Heike Walk, Prof. Dr. Jens Pape, Kerstin Kräusche, Kerstin Lehmann, Anja Stache, Jana Twarok, Elisa Betker, Manuel Enders

The transfer-project is funded by the German Ministry for Research, Education and Culture of the Federal State Brandenburg (MWFK)