Turn expertise into policy
Would you like to use your expertise and commitment to strengthen Ghent University's climate and sustainability ambitions and translate them into concrete policy? You can do so through (student) research, living labs, participation in thematic working groups, etc.
Thematic working groups
The thematic working groups consist of experts, policy officers and committed staff members and students. They work on the thematic objectives and the transition paths towards them and further shape them by sharing knowledge and experiences, providing policy advice and carrying out policy preparatory work, specifying research questions and experimenting in living labs. They are responsible for quality assurance and monitoring of the indicators, reporting on the progress of the transition plans and formulating proposals for adjustments.
- Thematic working group energy
- TThematic working group water
- Thematic working group biodiversity
- Thematic working group sustainable mobility
- Thematic working group sustainable travel
- Thematic working group sustainable food
- Thematic working group circular building
- Sustainable education and research
Interested? Contact duurzaam@UGent.be.
Action research and living labs to strengthen the climate plan
Student projects
Every academic year, many students work on projects . We want to bring them into contact with our sustainability challenges as much as possible. In this way, we want to avoid the end results being left on the shelf and we want to stimulate their open view of the world. Moreover, this helps us advance our sustainability policy. Add challenges or find challenges on the call for challenges website, or contact duurzaam@UGent.be.
Living labs
Would you like to work with policy officers, students, academics and possibly external actors to set up living labs that serve Ghent University's transition path or sustainability objectives? If so, you can apply for the living labs provision, which is funded by part of the CO2 contribution for air travel. Read more about the conditions for subsidy and the application procedure.
De Stadsacademie
The Stadsacademie aims to be a collaborative space where students, professors, policymakers, businesses and civil society organisations can share knowledge about major social and ecological challenges facing Ghent. It is a place where people can reflect on problem definitions and solutions, visions for the future and strategies, experiments and upscaling. At the City Academy, students from different disciplines work under the guidance of transdisciplinary teams on a socially just and ecologically sustainable future for Ghent. This translates into shared assignments for bachelor's theses, master's theses, group projects, internships, and an active search for experimental zones and testing grounds..