Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE)

About the university

The Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) is an important driving force with its holistic sustainable orientation, its unique range of courses geared towards future-oriented topics and as a strong institution in the field of sustainability research.

Around 2,300 students from around 60 nations study and more than 400 employees teach, research and work at the modern campus university. HNEE's mission is to drive forward the transformation towards a sustainable society by developing viable model solutions and equipping students with design skills. With a high level of practical relevance, plenty of creative freedom and the best career opportunities, there are six Bachelor's degree courses, two dual Bachelor's degree courses and twelve Master's degree courses to choose from in the departments of Forest and Environment, Landscape Use and Nature Conservation, Wood Engineering and Sustainable Business.

The university has been EMAS-certified since 2010, climate-neutral since 2014 and most recently received the European EMAS Award in 2017 for its exemplary environmental management.

Since spring 2021, the Stiftung Zukunft jetzt! has had a close funding partnership with the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), which has enabled the implementation of three projects:

1. The HNEE has set itself the task of equipping students with the key skills to shape sustainable development. This requires a regular review of the changing social challenges and, as a result, a comparison of whether the existing study programs qualify students appropriately. Again and again, new impulses are given from the university, but sometimes also from civil society, which can also lead to the development of innovative study programs.

For example, the current forest crisis prompted Peter Wohlleben and the editor-in-chief of GEO magazine, Jens Schröder, to approach Prof. Dr. Pierre Ibisch (Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management / HNEE) and initiate the development of a degree course in "Socio-ecological Forest Management". The new course is to be developed to complement the existing forest-related courses at HNEE. A particular focus is on the valorization of a wider range of ecosystem services or the conservation and development of forests under the conditions of the climate crisis. Interest in forests is growing in society, and different forest owners are asking for a greater variety of approaches to forest management. The "Socio-ecological Forest Management" course is intended to meet this demand.

The Stiftung Zukunft jetzt! is supporting this new degree program in the conception phase (financially) as well as the implementation phase (in an advisory capacity) through its broad network, e.g. in financing the three required endowed professorships. The Bachelor's degree program, which is still under development, is to be located at HNEE if possible and will be launched in 2023/2024. Each year, around 25 graduates are to take on responsibility in various forest-related professions and help shape the view of the forest and how we deal with it in the long term.

2. Furthermore, in fall 2021, the perspective of institutional integration of a research internship entitled "Orientation guide for private forest owners in Galicia for planning socio-ecological forest management" for students of the Bachelor's program "International Forest Ecosystem Management" at the Department of Forest and Environment at HNEE arose. The project takes place under the supervision of the Center for Econics and Ecosystem Management at HNEE and will be continued by students over several years with annual research phases that build on each other. It is being implemented together with local cooperation partners in Galicia (northern Spain) in two study areas and is financially supported by the Stiftung Zukunft jetzt! and the Erasmus+ program. The long-term goal of this research project, which the Stiftung Zukunft jetzt! co-initiated and intends to accompany for some time, is to develop a concept that will lead from the currently widespread and species-poor eucalyptus and pine plantations to diverse, near-natural and resilient forest ecosystems. A measure that is intended to promote alternative forest use by the local population and an adaptation of the forest to the climate crisis. At the same time, the internship offered enables us to promote project-oriented, research-based, transdisciplinary and intercultural learning and create attractive working conditions for students.

3. As we take our social responsibility as a foundation very seriously and want to help shape the future of young people, the Stiftung Zukunft jetzt! has recently further expanded its cooperation with HNEE in the area of funding German scholarships and has thus enabled a total of six German scholarship holders with predominantly international backgrounds to receive financial appreciation for their commitment since the summer semester 2022.