Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences sees itself as an incubator for sustainable development. As a scientific institution in particular, we see a special responsibility and want to make a contribution to ensuring that the foundations of life on earth are secured for all people in the long term. Sustainable Development therefore seeps through everything we do: Teaching as well as research, transfer and operations.
A consistent approach to sustainability
Sustainable development is not only an integral part of many degree programmes, but also the focus of numerous initiatives. It is therefore no surprise that we have already been recognised four times by UNESCO and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as a model for sustainable development. In our research and knowledge transfer work, we focus on concrete steps towards sustainable development – in other words, on social, technical and organisational innovations. These are developed in a wide variety of projects – ranging from teaching research to large-scale transformative projects in which internal and external stakeholders collaborate, as well as in dissertations at Germany’s first doctoral centre for sustainability sciences.
The Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (KNE), founded in 2025, brings together h_da’s long-standing sustainability initiatives. It serves as the point of contact, coordination and development centre for all aspects of sustainable development at h_da. The KNE supports the university in developing itself in a future-proof manner in line with the Whole Institution Approach. The already established Green Office will in future serve as the central point of contact and event venue on campus as part of the KNE.
The university is also an institutional member of the German Society for Sustainability in Higher Education (DG HochN) – a nationwide exchange and expert platform for promoting sustainable development within the higher education system.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German Commission for UNESCO recognized h_da as a role model for sustainable development for the first time in 2014 and again in 2017, 2019 and 2021. The independent jury thus recognized h_da’s consistent focus on sustainable development – not only in teaching and research, but also in operations and networking with regional partners – as an excellent initiative in the UNESCO program "Education for Sustainable Development: Achieving the Global Sustainable Development Goals (ESD 2030)".
A special feature of Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences are the accompanying studies in Social and Cultural Sciences (SuK). Theses studies provide students from all degree programs with skills in social, economic, political, legal, scientific and cultural issues. Major changes such as digitalization and sustainable development play a central role in the Darmstadt model. Students here may choose from an extensive portfolio of topics.
The accompanying studies have been offered since the university was founded and are unique as an integral part of student education in the German university landscape.
Sustainable development is not a topic imposed from above at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences; on the contrary, it has grown over the years through numerous initiatives and working groups. The Sustainable Development Initiative (i:ne) and a regularly held lecture series for interested people from across all faculties play an important role in this. At the same time, sustainable development is the subject of entire degree programmes as well as study specializations.
The new prize for final theses on sustainable development (pra:ne), which is awarded from students to students, provides additional motivation to engage even more with topics of sustainability.
The role of h_da as a University of Applied Sciences is a special incentive when it comes to sustainable development. For us, this entails pursuing research at the highest level, without losing sight of its social implications. Our aim is to develop tangible solutions with our findings and, above all, transfer them into practice.
Three important institutions deal exclusively with sustainable development:
In addition, numerous departments and other institutions from disciplines such as design, journalism, materials and process technology, online communication or business have :ne focal points in research and transfer - and finally, there are numerous externally funded projects on sustainable development.
Communication Office: C10, 14.05
Green Office
greenoffice@h-da.de
Sustainability management
nachhaltigkeitsmanagement@h-da.de