In the run-up to the anniversary celebrations, a workshop was held on the topic of sustainability at which researchers from the university and the Wuppertal Institute jointly discussed key research areas and possible collaborations. The focus was on key topics such as sustainable prosperity in urban areas, sustainable mobility and energy, neighbourhood development for the common good and education for sustainable development.

"The workshop and anniversary celebration have shown that the BUW and the Wuppertal Institute together have a wealth of potential in sustainability research, which is bundled by the transzent," reports political scientist and CEO Prof Dr Maria Behrens.

Powerful alliances

Prof Dr Uwe Schneidewind was one of the speakers at the evening celebrations in the Bergische Universität guest house. The current Lord Mayor of the City of Wuppertal is a founding member and former Chairman of the Board of transzent. Afterwards, University Rector Prof Dr Birgitta Wolff and the Scientific Director of the Wuppertal Institute, Prof Dr Manfred Fischedick, shared their thoughts in a joint keynote speech. They agreed that, in view of the major challenges of our time, powerful new alliances are needed and that existing collaborations need to be intensified in order to join forces.

The transzent currently has 27 members from various disciplines, including political science, sociology, economics, philosophy and education, biology, architecture and design, engineering, spatial planning and geography as well as psychology.

Current research project: Narrative Futures

The "Narrative Futures" research project was launched at transzent in May 2023. An unanswered question in the research of sustainability-oriented transformation processes is how specific ideas of the future are constructed narratively and to what extent processes of future narration influence concrete action towards social transformation. The project team will focus on the development of an inter- and transdisciplinary approach to the construction of futures and the shaping of transformation processes through narratives.

Lecture series "Climate crisis and sustainability"

Transzent, the General Students' Committee (AStA) and Students for Future at the University of Wuppertal and the Wuppertal Institute invite you to the fifth round of the lecture series "Climate Crisis and Sustainability" in the winter semester 2023/24. The lecture series is an offer to students, but also to all other interested parties, to deal with the climate crisis from the perspective of as many disciplines as possible, some of which have not yet been given space in the climate discourse. In the lecture series, researchers will present their findings and highlight possible solutions for shaping sustainable development. On 30 January 2024, the last lecture of the current round will be held on the topic of "Enabling sustainable consumption". It starts at 6 p.m. on the AStA level of the Grifflenberg campus (Max-Horkheimer-Straße 15, Building ME, Level 04).