TUM Sustainability Day 2024 at the Garching Research Campus
Sustainability is not a buzzword at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) but a serious mission. With the TUM Sustainable Futures Strategy 2030, the university set itself the goal a year and a half ago of integrating sustainability more deeply into its work and structure and also getting students and employees on board. The TUM Sustainability Day 2024 at the Garching research campus showed that this works.
Over 100 initiatives presented their sustainability projects and ideas for the future in the vast main hall of the Mechanical Engineering building. The focus was on climate-friendly mobility as well as the circular economy, environmentally friendly energy production, and the future of food production. Start-ups and student initiatives also presented their inventions, products, and prototypes. Thousands of TUM members and guests from science, business, politics and the interested public gathered information at this "market of opportunities".
The world needs creative power
TUM President Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann spoke of a "grand festival of sustainability" and emphasized: "Solving the climate crisis and the associated sustainability problems is a huge task. But when I see the many clever, courageous, and committed young people at TUM, I know that we can make a contribution. The world needs our courage for change and our creative power more than ever!"
Focus brings success
The former Formula 1 world champion and now sustainability investor Nico Rosberg participated in the Sustainability Day as a guest speaker. As part of the TUM Speakers Series, he discussed the opportunities and challenges of founding companies with the students. His most important advice is to entirely focus on your goal in crucial phases. He himself then completely isolates himself from current world events in the news and does not use social media.
Cities as a decisive factor in the climate crisis
In her speech, sustainability researcher Prof. Sarah Billington from Stanford University emphasized the importance of cities in the climate crisis. "Around 70 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions are produced in the world’s cities," warned Billington. And the proportion of the population living in urban areas has been rising for decades and now almost accounts for two-thirds. Measures that make cities more environmentally friendly and resource-efficient are therefore particularly effective.
Appeal to join in
TUM Vice President for Sustainable Development, Prof. Werner Lang, appealed to all’university family members to join the sustainability movement: "We want to inspire people to become active themselves. We want a future in which sustainability is no longer an abstract goal but a lived reality."