1Future - jOiNEd For sUsTainability - bUilding climate REsilient communities in West Balkan and EU

On 10 and 11 October 2023, 25 project partners of the 1Future project from the Western Balkans region will meet for a comprehensive study visit and exchange of experiences at the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE). The aim of the study visit is to gain an insight into the far-reaching integration of sustainability into teaching, research and transfer as well as sustainable operations management at HNEE. The HNEE colleagues will demonstrate how sustainability is an integral part of their respective subject area, project or research programme. The knowledge gained during the study visit to Eberswalde is intended to give the project partners impetus to integrate sustainability with a focus on climate protection more strongly into teaching and research as well as into operational sustainability management at universities in the Western Balkans.

The 1Future project, which will run for three years, aims to sensitise higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Western Balkans region to climate and sustainability issues and to support them in climate protection measures as well as to integrate (higher education education for) sustainable development and resilience in teaching and research. The HEIs serve as a link between various stakeholders from business, science and civil society (NGOs) for the development of climate change resilient communities in the Western Balkans region.

In the further course of the project, topic-specific intensive courses will be developed and coaching sessions organised based on the needs of the partner universities, and knowledge hubs will be set up at the universities in the Western Balkans. The higher education system makes a decisive contribution to the development of skills and interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary knowledge for a sustainable and resilient society in order to better deal with crises. This will support the regions particularly affected by the effects of climate change.

The project is jointly funded by the EU and Erasmus+. The Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) programme supports international cooperation projects based on multilateral partnerships between organisations active in the field of higher education. It supports a green and sustainable global economic recovery in third countries not associated with the Erasmus+ programme, which is linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement. The total budget is around 800,000 euros, excluding the universities' own contributions. HNEE's pro rata funding amounts to 51,780 euros as well as its own contribution of 10 per cent.

The international project management lies with the Albanian University of Tirana. It is the largest university in the country. Six faculties and two institutes offer 174 degree programmes in three study cycles, with 779 full-time academic staff and around 28,550 students. Due to its long history and its high level of qualification, training and certification, the University of Tirana is the most popular university in Albania.

On 1 September, Prof. Dr Heike Molitor took over the project management of the sub-project at HNEE from Prof. Dr Wolfgang Strasdas, who will soon be retiring.

Duration of the project: 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2026

Note on image material
The photos available here may be used in the context of reporting. Please note the copyright notice © Prof. Asoc. Dr Elona Pojani