Trinational Summer School develops recommendations for Emmendingen in the field of climate adaption
Freiburg, Oct 06, 2023
Final presentation of the results by the Summer School at the city hall in Emmendingen Photo credit: Viviane Schmidt
Around 20 doctoral and master’s students presented their recommendations for Emmendingen in the field of climate adaption on Friday, 29 September 2023 at the city hall. The presentation was the conclusion of a five-day scientific summer school, in which the students and doctoral candidates had developed solutions for real problems of the city of Emmendingen. Among the representatives of the city of Emmendingen present were Stefanie Eißing, Head of the Department of Environment, Climate, Transportation, Verena Quadt, Climate Protection Manager, and Karin-Anne Böttcher, Citizen Participation Officer.
The recommendations for action include, on the one hand, preventive measures in the event of heavy rain. The students and doctoral candidates presented their concept for an awareness campaign with the slogan “Nice here. But only with rubber boots,” which is based on a marketing campaign by the State of Baden-Württemberg. Second, the Summer School participants recommended measures to better engage vulnerable populations during heat waves. To this end, they proposed an artistic intervention entitled "Free(ze) your grandma!" A large refrigerator on the market square should arouse the interest of passers-by and sensitise especially younger generations to take care of their grandparents during heat waves. "The fact that the city representatives in Emmendingen showed great interest in our Summer School participants’ recommendations is a great success for us,” summarises Mathilde Colin, Eucor project manager at the University of Freiburg and co-organiser of the Trinational Summer School. “The intergenerational approach and the artistic interventions met with noticeable enthusiasm.”
About the Summer School
The Summer School "Experimenting with transdisciplinary research - using the example of climate adaptation of cities and municipalities" took place from 25 September through 29 September 2023 in Freiburg at the Wiesneck Study House. Twenty Master’s and doctoral students from more than twenty different disciplines and six nationalities participated. “Transdisciplinarity is about ‘moving beyond science’,” explains Dr. Regina Rhodius of the Öko-Institut. “It is an integrative approach that brings together theoretical and practical knowledge.” As a result, the participants met municipal representatives and took part in a guided tour of Emmendingen.
The Trinational Summer School is a cooperation between the University of Freiburg, Öko-Institut e.V./td-Academy, FERED (Fédération Recherche Environment et Durabilité) of the University of Strasbourg and Eucor – The European Campus. It is sponsored by the Franco-German University and the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg. The city of Emmendingen provided its current challenges in the field of climate adaptation as tasks for the participants of the Summer School.
About Eucor – The European Campus
Eucor – The European Campus is a trinational alliance of five universities in the Upper Rhine, in the heart of Europe. Its members include the Universities of Basel, Freiburg, Haute-Alsace, Strasbourg, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Together, these institutions crystallise the skills of some 17,000 researchers, 9,900 doctoral candidates and 120,000 students in a region that is economically strong and research intensive in the heart of Europe. Their aim is to build a scientific space with a clearly defined profile, without walls or borders and with international outreach.
For more information: https://www.eucor-uni.org/en/
About the Öko-Institut
The Öko-Institut is one of Europe’s leading independent research and consultancy institutes for a sustainable future. Since its founding in 1977, the Institute has been developing principles and strategies for implementing the vision of sustainable development globally, nationally and locally. The Institute has offices in Freiburg, Darmstadt and Berlin.
For more information: https://www.oeko.de/en/
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