Students Come Together at the University of Copenhagen
Photo Credit: Aaron Thom
Sunday saw the conclusion of a two-day event led by Yale and the University of Copenhagen which brought together students from universities around the world to discuss ways to establish schools as sustainability hubs. Katherine Dykes, a Ph.D student in the Technology and Policy Program represented MIT’s Energy Club and Walk the Talk. The students used Saturday to discuss what programs and projects currently existed at their universities and how they could improve them.
Who was there?
Universities in attendance included Tongji University, Yale University, Brown University, The University of British Columbia, The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Hokkaido University, Bilkent University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Uppsala, the University College London, the University of Copenhagen, the University of Gothenberg, ETH (The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), and MIE University.
What topics did they discuss?
One of the topics that were discussed was the role of universities in their local communities. The Brown University students noted that one of the most pressing issues regarding student involvement at their school is engaging students on campus, as student attention is largely focused off campus. This contrasts starkly with MIT’s situation, where students are actively engaged in research, education, and other activities on campus (for the most part) but not as much off campus. Also, RMIT students discussed the importance of an institutional framework for ensuring accountability, along with facilitating knowledge transfer and collaboration across departments.
Two common themes throughout the talks were the sustainability of food production and the concept of “opt-in/out.” Carnegie Mellon proposed creating a dining program designed specifically to be as sustainable as possible, with materials such as compostable cups and plates (which a Green Committee would be charged with ensuring were actually composted), and requiring students to “opt-out” in their dining plans should they not wish to participate. The University College of London proposed a student tax to fund energy-efficiency retrofits that students would have by default and would have to actively opt out of. Multiple students proposed redesigning dining programs at their universities to encourage vegetarian options and increasing the availability of low-impact food. The Carnegie Mellon students made an interesting point about the important of pre-consumer waste along with post-consumer waste.
What’s next?
Having met and interacted, the students at these universities aim to maintain the network they have formed, and provide one another with periodic updates throughout the coming year with their implementation of their proposed plans. These organizations will prepare for another meeting which could occur at COP16 in Mexico.
