Baltic University Program (BUP) - Road tour and summer course
The university's BUP team has recruited two new members for the international university network.
On the afternoon of September 3, 2018, Prof. Bernd Delakowitz, Markus Will, and Anke Zenker-Hoffmann set out on a road trip for the Baltic University Program (BUP), of which our university has been an active member since 2003.
The destinations were the University of Rostock on September 4 and the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development on September 5, followed by the summer course organized jointly with HAW Hamburg.
The purpose of the visit to Rostock and Eberswalde was to present the BUP to these institutions, promote membership, and discuss shared interests and upcoming activities. In his role as German Center Director of the BUP, Prof. Delakowitz has long been pursuing the idea of finding additional German partners to strengthen the network, expand offerings for students and faculty, and address new topics.
The BUP’s focus on the topics of sustainable development and democracy—with various offerings for students (courses, conferences, summer schools, sailing trips, etc.) and for faculty (training courses and conferences) met with great interest from our counterparts in Rostock: the Rector of the University of Rostock, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schareck; the Prorectors, Prof. Dr. Patrick Kaeding and Associate Prof. Prof. Dr. Meike Klettke, as well as Mr. Paulus, Director of the International Office, and approximately 15 other participants from all faculties and institutions. Possible joint activities—such as the development of joint English-language modules—were discussed, and ideas were explored. The day at the University of Rostock ended very successfully with Prof. Schareck’s commitment to sign the agreement as a partner university in the BUP within the next few days.
Our road trip then continued southward to Eberswalde. There, too, we held a meeting at the University Executive Board of the University of Applied Sciences for Sustainable Development (HNEE). Together with President Prof. Dr. Wilhelm-Günther Vahrson, his advisor Juliane Pöschke, the Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer, Prof. Dr. Alexander Pfriem, the Director of Student Services, Vera Clauder, and her colleague Manuela, as well as the Dean of the Department of Forestry and Environment, Prof. Dr. Peter Spathelf, they discussed common ground and opportunities for collaboration within the BUP network and finalized the procedures for the HNEE’s membership. In particular, the thematic alignment with HNEE’s mission statement on sustainable development and with the content of the BUP highlights synergies for future collaboration. Almost as an afterthought, a statement was signed by Prof. Vahrson during this meeting, formalizing the collaboration between the HNEE and the HSZG as a new consortium partner in the further development of the Modular System for a Sustainable Campus (BNC).
The group then traveled directly on to Hamburg. There, this year’s summer course began with an upcycling workshop and a presentation by Cradle-to-Cradle e.V. This event was organized jointly for the 15th time by Prof. Dr. mult. Walter Leal and Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Bernd Delakowitz, along with the organizational teams from Hamburg and Zittau. Thirty-five participants from various countries explored the theory and practice of the circular economy. In addition to the interesting lectures, the program also included a group project on the development of circular economy business models and an excursion to Stilbruch (www.stilbruch.de), a subsidiary of Stadtreinigung Hamburg. In its various stores, used products—primarily furniture and household appliances—are refurbished and sold. The event concluded with a group “Climate Cooking” session at the Kultur Energie Bunker (http://kulturenergiebunker.blogspot.com/). The “Climate Kitchen for Altona” project builds on long-standing activities in the community garden and good relationships with regional food producers.
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