IDEA League Summer Schools

Learning From Each Other and Developing Ideas

Under the direction of the Institute of Urban Design and European Urban Studies at RWTH (Prof. Christa Reicher and Dr. Ceren Sezer), summer schools on the topic of climate change and university campuses were held in both 2021 and 2022. The summer schools involved educators and students from all five member universities as well as the ASPIRE League universities in Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Participants from a wide range of fields were represented, including architecture, IT, transportation technology, energy, management, medicine, and others.

2021 – Climate Change and University Campuses

The Summer School 2021 took place under the title “Climate Change and University Campuses” – as an online event due to the coronavirus pandemic. Over three days and in five workshops, the participants discussed and exchanged new ideas and strategies for climate protection on campus. The workshops focused on the topics of governance, energy, green campus and nature-based solutions, circularity, and education. RWTH contributed from a wide range of research disciplines. Student initiatives from Aachen were also actively involved. Energybirds e. V. and Uni.Urban.Mobil. were also there. A total of 48 master’s and doctoral students took part in the Summer School.

2022 – When Science Meets Art

The 2022 Summer School focused on the technological and innovative aspects of sustainable urban transformation processes with a particular focus on climate protection. The summer school, entitled “When science meets art,” was aimed, in particular, at reflecting on technology-driven perspectives on climate protection using art-based methods.

The Summer School turned the RWTH campus into a lively learning environment. The participants conducted field research on campus to gather empirical evidence about artistic methods – observing, sketching, filming, and photographing. Two visual artists and a filmmaker guided the field research of the 20 participants.

The Summer Schools were planned and implemented in collaboration with RWTH’s International Office and the Sustainability and University Governance Staff Unit.

Further information:

CClab – Climate Change Combat Lab

Focused SDGs:

SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 13 – Climate Action

Organization unit:

Faculty of Architecture, Chair of Urban Planning and Design and Institute of Urban Planning and European Urban Studies