16 May 2024

Universities not only act as educational centres for future decision-makers, but also as (discourse) spaces that play a key role in the social transformation process. Against this background, four Thuringian universities are pooling their expertise as part of the research project "CLIMATE Network for More Sustainability in Thuringia", making it available to each other in the network and developing it further based on a division of labour.

The practical project team consisting of the task force and students from Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences (©Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences/Picture: Thomas Füldner)

The KLIMA network makes it possible to carry out pilot projects and disseminate the results across universities. The projects are not limited to the universities, but integrate stakeholders from administration, business and civil society in order to develop social impact in the region and beyond.

Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences is one of four universities involved in the KLIMA-N research project, which aims to promote sustainable campus operations. The overall project consists of four sub-projects in which the Erfurt University of Applied Sciences, the University of Erfurt, the Ilmenau University of Technology and Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences are conducting research and working together. The Thuringian project consortium is coordinated by the Faculty of Landscape Architecture, Horticulture and Forestry at Erfurt University of Applied Sciences. The funding of the project as part of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research's call for proposals "Transformation Pathways for Sustainable Universities" emphasises the importance and relevance of this project for the national research and education landscape.

Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences is working to make its campus more environmentally friendly by focusing on improving energy and resource utilisation. As part of the project, various measures are being developed to achieve this. These include efficiency measures aimed at making better use of existing resources and consistency measures to ensure that operations are sustainable. In addition, sufficiency measures will be taken to reduce the overall consumption of resources.

The next step is to implement specific measures from the project. This will take the form of a practical project in which students are also involved. The aim of this practical project is to bring about the first visible changes on campus.


Specific measures have already been identified for this purpose. For example, the

• Greening the campus: tree planting initiative for ecological sustainability
• Visualisation of the carbon footprint: CO₂-Ticker installation for campus awareness          
• PV car park feasibility study
• Digitalisation for sustainable efficiency: reducing material consumption through digitalisation
• Evaluation of energy saving potential through smart meter analyses in university buildings   
• Predictive modelling of the energy requirements of electric vehicles and integration into the university infrastructure
• Improving workplace quality with green vertical partitions

Finally, a best practice guide "Climate-friendly campus" will be developed and published. This guide documents the methods and results of the measures implemented. In addition, Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences plans to examine the transferability of these measures and derive guiding principles for sustainable action. The experience gained will be used to develop new advisory projects and serve as a model for other institutions, both within and outside the university sector.

In order to successfully transfer the results of the project to society, a task group has been formed at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences. Led by Dr.-Ing. Pascal Leibbrandt, who is in charge of the project, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Viktor Wesselak, holder of the Chair of Regenerative Energy Systems, and Gokarna Dhungel, M.Eng. from the Institute of Regenerative Energy Technology. These experts are supported by Daniel Rübesamen, M.Eng., who represents the Construction, Real Estate and Safety department. In addition, Thomas Füldner and Sara Schulz from the Transfer plant Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences with its expertise in the field of transfer. The task of the task force is to strengthen the interface between university administration, research and transfer activities and to effectively transfer the solutions developed to society.