Sustainable Research & Teaching
Excellent research creates the conditions for the development of innovative answers to regional and global challenges. Research-led teaching enables students to develop critical thinking and acquire essential skills in order to deal responsibly with change and seize opportunities for the benefit of all people.
Sustainability as well as climate and environmental protection have been important components of the University of Graz for many years. This can be seen through numerous initiatives in research and teaching, in which the University of Graz plays a pioneering role in the national and international context. To this end, it places particular emphasis on fields of excellence that are characterised by outstanding performance, international success and socially relevant aspects. To this end, Graz University has defined five so-called fields of excellence. Researchers join together to answer important questions beyond the traditional boundaries of the subjects and develop strategies to help shape the future. One of these fields of excellence, Climate Change Graz, deals with man-made climate change, which is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Sustainability issues are also anchored in the Research Network Environment and Global Change (EGC Graz), as well as in numerous other projects, curricula and courses.
The university's goal is to continuously promote awareness of sustainable development among all employees and students and to take the role and impact of these global multipliers seriously. More information on which areas the university particularly focuses on can be found on the left-hand side of this page, divided thematically according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The 17 SDGs were adopted by the UN member states and represent the global agenda for sustainable development until 2030.
