Founded in 1833, the University of Zurich (UZH) is the largest university in Switzerland with over 27,000 students. Its seven faculties cover around 100 different disciplines.
UZH and its members in research, teaching and administration are committed to the active and systematic promotion of sustainable development on every level of the organization.The Sustainability Policy, which was approved by the Extended Executive Board of the University on 5 February 2019, concretizes this commitment to sustainable development. Since 2020, the Implementation Strategy 2030 of the Sustainability Policy elaborates the Sustainability Policy with more than 20 strategic goals and close to 80 measures. Therefore, UZH focuses on the areas of research and teaching, campus operations, outreach, governance, UZH and its members. The Sustainability Hub – the Sustainability Department – is the lead unit for the implementation of the Sustainability Policy. The Sustainability Hub represents the UZH within networks for Sustainable Development, such as the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Switzerland (SDSN), the League of European Research Universities (LERU), Una Europa or the COPERNICUS Alliance.
Regarding teaching UZH enables its students to understand their field of study in the context of sustainable development and to carry out their future work with this understanding. In addition, the sustainability-relevant competencies of systems thinking, design competence and normative competence are given increasing consideration. A growing field within research and teaching are inter- and transdisciplinarity which requires not only knowledge, but also the reflection of values and the development of competencies for collaboration with societal actors. Important steps on this path are the development of UZH’s Green VVZ, which lists courses relevant to sustainability, the Lecture Series "Sustainability Now!", which is a collaboration with the Right Livelihood Centre at UZH, and the inter- and transdisciplinary Study Week "Sustainable Development and Transformation". The School for Transdisciplinary Studies is an important partner for the planning and implementation of such and similar courses.
The sustainable use of resources in teaching and the ethical reflection of the means and consequences of teaching are also goals of the Implementation Strategy 2030.
Contacts
► Jeannette Behringer, Responsible Sustainability in Research and Teaching UZH | Email
► Linde Warland, Head of Sustainability Hub UZH |
► Website of University of Zurich
