Sustainability is no longer a future issue - it is a crucial present-day social task. Sustainability has become a major interdisciplinary issue at Thuringian universities in recent years in light of global challenges; it is a subject of research and teaching as well as a guiding principle in operations and transfer activities.

Sustainability in Teaching, Research, Operations, Transfer, and Governance

By uniting to form the Thuringian University Network for Sustainability, the ten state universities in Thuringia are committing to playing an active role in the transformation process towards sustainable development. The universities are dedicated to their specific social responsibilities in teaching, research, operations, transfer, and governance. As members of the network, they are committed to technological and social innovations that reflect their profiles and core strengths in order to drive the transition to a sustainable society.

Strengthening the Region – Advancing Global Transformation

The Thuringian universities are, on the one hand, aiming to strengthen the region and prepare it for upcoming challenges through sustainable development. On the other hand, they are also contributing to achieving the necessary global transition through research and international cooperation.    The universities have set themselves ambitious goals: the long-term protection of natural resources, both locally and globally; establishing human living conditions for present and future generations; and ensuring local and global justice. In order to achieve this, they are committed to implementing sustainability principles themselves to set an example.

Helping Shape a Sustainable Society

Despite the diversity of their profiles, processes, and specific challenges, the ten universities in Thuringia are hoping to collaborate in a coordinated manner in future as members of the Thuringian University Network for Sustainability and to coordinate their strategies on an ongoing basis. The universities consider themselves to be laboratories for democratically organised transformation processes in which all university members, employees, and students are given the opportunity to help shape a sustainable society in all areas through topic-specific working groups and committees.

The Thuringian University Network for Sustainability members are:

• The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
• Duale Hochschule Gera-Eisenach
• Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule Jena University of Applied Sciences
• Fachhochschule Erfurt University of Applied Sciences
• Friedrich Schiller University Jena
• University of Music LISZT Weimar
• Hochschule Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences
• Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences
• Technische Universität Ilmenau
• University of Erfurt

Dr. Karsten Gaebler, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (karsten.gaebler[at]uni-jena.de), and Dr. Ulrike Kuch, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (ulrike.kuch[at]uni-weimar.de), were responsible for initiating the Thuringian University Network for Sustainability; they also coordinate the Network’s activities and are available as contact persons.

Signing of the Thuringian University Network for Sustainability Declaration of Intent

Time: 3 July 2025, 12:45 to 1 pm
Location: Duale Hochschule Gera-Eisenach
Schloss Tinz
Weg der Freundschaft 4
Gera