They will focus on shaping sustainable and health-promoting campuses in the EU GREEN

The goal is to create vibrant, active and attractive campuses that are at the forefront of sustainability. The University of Gävle is leading work package eight in the EU GREEN alliance and WP8 leader Agneta Morelli wants to see more students and staff taking the opportunity to be involved in developing the University's campus.

The first year has been about interpreting the mission, building consensus, structuring and organising the work of WP8, and reaching out to staff and students who want to get involved in the nine EU GREEN universities.

– The work package is described in visionary terms with the aim of creating a campus culture and a campus identity characterised by sustainability and health. These are rather vague concepts that we are now concretising in the form of activities, initiatives and events, says Agneta Morelli.

The challenge of creating a vibrant campus

The work package addresses social, ecological and economic sustainability. Using a survey, they have mapped the current situation on all campuses of our partner universities.

Responsible persons in different areas of activity have answered questions and the answers have been analysed. Both common and local challenges were then identified and prioritised.

– We have delivered an action plan to the European Commission and held a Staff Week in Ireland in January. Now we are planning this year's concrete measures around the universities. A real challenge at the University of Gävle is to create a vibrant campus where students and staff want to be, an attractive meeting place for external partners and a natural part of the local community, says Agneta Morelli.

Social sustainability a major area for improvement

She mentions that there is potential for development in many areas.

– But overall, I would say that social sustainability is our major area of improvement. We need to develop the conditions for inclusion and well-being for students, staff and visitors, says Agneta Morelli.

The work package has a strong student focus and Melis Temel, a PhD student in Industrial Economics, has a role as student coordinator:

– My role is to facilitate communication and create opportunities for cooperation between student representatives at higher education institutions within EU GREEN. We have regular meetings with exercises and brainstorming to get ideas on how to improve student participation and influence, she says.

"Important to encourage students"

Last September, the work package held a kick-off for the student representatives in Angers, France, where they met to exchange experiences and discuss ideas. One of those who attended was Karin Eriksson, environmental strategist and now student influence officer at Gefle Student Union.

– We have managed to increase the number of students who receive a fee for being a student representative from one to six. We think it is very important to encourage students to spend time being a student representative because it means that we have committed students who want to be involved in creating change, she says.

"Want to build a platform"

In 2024, much of the work is about creating activities linked to the different development areas of the work package, how we create a sustainable and health-promoting campus.

– We want to build a platform for students at the University of Gävle where they can exchange ideas about sustainable and health-promoting campuses. We have many ideas for activities and events. It is very important to co-create based on participation, both with students, employees and external organisations, says Agneta Morelli.

Text: Anna Sällberg