International Sustainable Campus Network Conference: call
deadline for submission: January 24, 2020
It’s open the call for breakout session proposals and abstracts for oral & poster presentations for the 14th International Sustainable Campus Network Conference, ISCN 2020: Accelerating Climate Action and Sustainability in Education. ISCN 2020 will be hosted by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) at the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, between 24-26 June, 2020.
Conference Concept and Overview
After education, research and innovation, universities now have a fourth mission, which is to co-create sustainability in collaboration with society and address the most pressing sustainability challenges such as the climate crisis, sustainable energy access, mass extinction of biodiversity and more sustainable consumption and production patterns. Universities are increasingly being recognized as key players in dealing with today’s development challenges due to their role as promoters and generators of innovation, knowledge, capabilities and skills.
Indeed, by training and educating people, strengthening human capital and fostering public awareness about sustainable development, the next generation of citizens and professionals will be better prepared to face fast-changing, complex global challenges. To better integrate sustainable development into the curricula and operations of universities, as well as to overcome compartmentalization, a systemic, multi- and transdisciplinary perspective is necessary. There is a need to focus on skills development that lie at the interface between technical, socio-economic and cultural factors, and where quantitative and qualitative methods intersect in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ultimately shift the world on a more sustainable path.
Aim of the Conference
The ISCN 2020 conference will provide a timely opportunity to exchange ideas on how climate action and sustainable development at universities can be fostered from an academic, operational and student perspective.
ISCN 2020 invites practitioners, researchers, students or anyone interested in sustainability and climate action to submit proposals for sessions and abstracts for oral and poster presentations.
ISCN 2020 gives you an opportunity to:
- Present your research, case studies, projects and questions at a unique multidisciplinary conference that focuses on best practices for achieving sustainable campus operations and integrating sustainability in research and teaching.
- Network with practitioners, academics and students that are active in the field of sustainability.
- Participate in the fabulous social event of the conference that will take place in the Lavaux Vineyards, an exceptional UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Potential topics for conference tracks:
- How to create institutional support for sustainability in education?
- The Times Higher Education (THE) SDG impact ranking – A leverage point for sustainability?
- Students as a driving force of sustainability in academic institutions
- The campus as a living lab – education, research and collaboration in campus projects
- Tackling the climate crisis: accelerating climate action from the perspective of universities and other higher education institutions
- Multi and trans-disciplinarity: de-compartmentalizing sustainability
- Sustainable purchasing and public procurement
- Mobility as an avenue to reducing carbon foot-print
- Sustainable food: the role of institutions in driving change
- Green campus operations: waste management, low and zero carbon emissions
- Promoting sustainability by fostering partnerships between cities and universities
- Sustainable meeting solutions: how higher education institutions reduce their own impacts by using technology for travel-free meetings
- Sustainable project platforms for university communities: experiences and recent developments
- Project-based learning for sustainable development
Proposals for breakout sessions and abstracts for oral and poster presentations should be submitted online by using the prescribed templates no later than January 24, 2020.
