A Focus on Climate Change

High temperatures and blazing sunshine: while Freiburgers enjoy the hot days of summer by bathing lakes, plant life faces other challenges. What strategies do plants develop to adapt in the context of climate change? How can forests be helped to cope with climate change? These and many other questions about climate change will be considered by a number of academics on the Studium Generale program of teaching at the University of Freiburg, which has been completely refreshed for this summer semester.

From 24 April 2021 the digital Saturday Uni starts with the lecture series ‘Der Klimawandel – Antworten auf eine Menschheitsfrage’, in which experts from natural, environmental and social sciences as well as from environmental medicine and environmental ethics discuss aspects of the human issue of climate change. For example, scientists explain which solutions are effective in providing greater everyday climate protection, or what economic policy steps are necessary to efficiently protect the climate. “Despite the ongoing pandemic, climate change mustn’t be forgotten. With its extensive palette of disciplines and competencies, the University of Freiburg enables us to discuss the complex phenomenon of climate change from a variety of scientific perspectives and to explain how we can respond effectively to this enormous challenge,” says Prof. Dr. Werner Frick, head of Studium Generale. A series of twelve weekly lectures will be accompanied by a discussion group via live stream, allowing audience members to exchange ideas with the speakers.

In addition, there is another twelve-part series, the Freiburg Summer Lectures, offering diverse insights into research at the university, especially in the humanities and cultural studies. In this varied series of independent lectures, Freiburg researchers talk about topics from literature, the arts and culture, as well as from history, society and medicine.

As in the last semester, the 2021 summer semester will also take place exclusively online. Access to the lectures via the Internet enables anyone who is interested to gain an interdisciplinary insight into various fields of knowledge at the University of Freiburg. “The high number of clicks and very positive feedback have encouraged us to extend the pilot from the winter semester and offer even more options online for anyone who is interested,” says Werner Frick. “At present there is no alternative. But of course we look forward to maintaining this ‘new visibility’ after we have overcome the pandemic.”

Studium Generale’s sister program Colloquium Politicum also offers lecture series and individual lectures on current political, economic and social developments. This includes the five-part lecture series ‘Die Bundestagswahl 2021 – Parteiensystem im Wandel. Wahlkampf. Wahlrecht. Demoskopie. Regierungsbildung’ in which experts discuss the Bundestag elections in September from a variety of perspectives.

All Studium Generale and Colloquium Politicum lectures are open to everyone online, with recordings available on demand for the rest of the summer semester. In a few exceptional cases, which will be labeled, videos will be taken offline sooner. The videos can be viewed for free on the Studium Generale website and on the university’s media portal.

Program of Saturday Uni

Program of the Freiburg Summer Lectures

Media portal: Studium generale

Program overview of Colloquium politicum