"City4Future shows what good STEM education is all about: the optimism of being able to master the challenges of tomorrow with scientific expertise, as well as the direct link between research and practice and everyday life", explains Education Minister Dr. Stefanie Hubig. 

Where does our energy come from and how is it transformed, transmitted and stored? Is it possible to do this in a completely sustainable way? How can we improve engery efficency issues in our buildings?  Can we develop a climate neutral city within 10 years of time? 

The research group submerge into these questions from an educational perspective. In cooperation with "Wissensfabrik" and the Wuppertal Institute of Climate, Environment und Energy, the project City4Future aims to create a learning environment that enables learners of science education classes to model future urban spaces via experimentation and exploration. Questions about energy supply, climate change and sustainability are adressed to students. Thus, leading them to an exciting journey towards a sustainable and climate friendly future.

Didactic concept:

The City4Future project is based on a holistic concept that is orientated towards the triad of education for sustainable development. The structure of the modules follows the pattern: ‘Research and analyse - reflect and evaluate - act’ and thus promotes technological understanding and the ability to judge social solutions. In accordance with the approach of research-based learning, students can explore most of the content in an experience-led and self-organised manner and experiment independently. This approach promotes long-term retention of the content and enables transfer to new, more complex situations.

Aims of the project:

• Students develop their own climate-friendly city and thus experience the topics of energy, sustainability and climate change in a concrete and everyday way
• Students learn key skills such as independence, creativity and social skills
• Students gain knowledge about climate change and the physical and technical relationships between energy generation and storage
• Students learn to place this knowledge in a social context and engage in democratic discourse

University contact person: Prof. Dr. Yelva Larsen

Contact person "Wissenfabrik": Maren Müller: maren.mueller(at)wissensfabrik.de

Project staff: Petra Nägel, Dr Jutta Paulini, Tanja Zacher, Dr Denis Messig