Goals of Engaged UniBE
Engaged UniBE aims to drive forward the transformation of society through innovative and future-oriented transdisciplinary formats. The University of Bern is particularly keen to set the tone in sustainable development and promote transdisciplinary approaches. Engaged UniBE is therefore a sub-project of the University of Bern's 2030 Climate Neutrality Roadmap. The goals of the concept are:
Promoting transdisciplinarity
Different disciplines work together, breaking down professional boundaries to find innovative solutions to complex problems. Social actors from politics, administration, business and civil society are actively involved in research and thus in decision-making and problem-solving processes right from the start of a project.
Social knowledge transfer and co-production of knowledge
The concept aims to actively share knowledge from the University with society, where appropriate and available, and to jointly develop solutions. And vice versa, to request knowledge from society and bring it into the University in order to jointly develop solutions.
Strengthening future-oriented/transformative teaching and promoting problem-based learning
The Engaged University can promote the training of students in sustainability skills so that they can act as agents of change. The Engaged University project can contribute to transformative teaching. To this end, aspects of transformative learning must be reflected upon (e.g. what kind of learning environment is needed, what kind of culture of dialog and discussion, cooperative work, etc.).
Regional networking
Cooperation with companies and other stakeholders in the region is being intensified in order to take advantage of sustainable development opportunities.
Contribution to the socio-ecological transformation
Numerous projects are already being developed at UniBE that generate knowledge about the socio-ecological transformation of society (projects in the institutes and centers, in some cases also in partnership with the Wyss Academy for Nature). This knowledge is to be implemented within the framework of the Engaged University in a transdisciplinary manner together with social actors using innovative methods (e.g. real-world laboratories). The idea is to create incentives for projects in teaching and research that make an effective contribution to socio-ecological transformation. The projects could therefore also be seen as contributions in terms of the CO2 handprint. In contrast to the carbon footprint, this is not about the personal climate-damaging activities of generating emissions that should be avoided or limited, but about the measures that can be taken to have a positive impact on the global climate. This concept will be further developed as part of the Climate Neutrality Roadmap 2030 and Engaged UniBE will play a central role in this.