Summer school in Gothenburg.

Summer school on site in Gothenburg

This year's version of the University of Gothenburg's summer school, with the theme of sustainability based on the 2030 Agenda, attracted students from all over the world. We had 400 applicants for 120 seats. – The students were overwhelmingly positive, says Elin Fransson, Project Coordinator.

THE UNIVERSITY OF Gothenburg's summer school, Summer School for Sustainability, had to be cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020 and was held for the first time in 2021, but online. This year, the event was held on site and welcomed students from all over the world to delve deeply into issues related to the global sustainability goals and the 2030 Agenda for five weeks.

– THE IDEA IS to promote ourselves internationally towards partner universities and international students, and to show what we can offer in Gothenburg, says Elin Fransson, Project Coordinator for the University of Gothenburg's summer school.

The summer school works on the basis that the three dimensions of sustainable development – social, economic and environmental – must be integrated into the organisation. In this way, the University of Gothenburg wants to strengthen its relevance as a social stakeholder and partner in order to make an impression on societal development and contribute to the Global Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN General Assembly in the 2030 Agenda and which the University of Gothenburg has adopted. – In the announcement for departments and faculties to nominate courses, there is a

We receive a wide variety of courses that are all linked to and united by the idea of sustainability.

ELIN FRANSSON

demand for courses that have a sustainability theme, in some way or another. We receive a wide variety of courses that are all linked to and united by the idea of sustainability.

The courses offer everything from pedagogy, biology and archaeology to digitalization and political science, says Elin Fransson. For example, you can learn about petroglyphs, biodiversity in Western Sweden and about managing migration.

– THE RANGE OF courses for 2023 is set, but for 2024 we hope to receive further course proposals from more faculties. In the long term, the initiative is about being able to showcase the entire breadth of the university.

Among the 120 students who participated in this year's summer school, there was both diversity and breadth. There were students from many different countries, varying backgrounds and of mixed ages. And from the evaluation that is being conducted right now, we can ascertain that the majority of the participants were appreciative.

– SOMETHING THAT both students and teachers highlighted as positive is precisely the heterogeneous mix that contributes new perspectives on various sustainability challenges.

Even in the peripheral programme associated with the summer school, the goal was to let the idea of sustainability permeate everything. Among other things, blankets were purchased together with Welcome Services, which will be reused for future summer schools. There was also a Free Shop at Studenternas Hus and at Olofshöjd, where you could pick up cutlery and kitchen utensils, things that had been forgotten or left behind, and which were then returned for further use. All the procurement of food was also aimed at organic, vegetarian and vegan options. – We also had a self-guide about how the students could discover the city. In it, we wrote about how to get around using public transport and rental bikes. We also included information about all the second-hand and thrift shops that we know of, as well as shops and workshops that do repairs, and sell locally produced and sustainable alternatives, says Elin Fransson.

Text: Hanna Jedvik Foto: Johan Wingborg – Both students and teachers appreciated the heterogeneous mix, says Elin Fransson.

FACTS

COURSES at GU:s Summer School for sustainability. - Biodiversity in Western

Sweden - Teaching Sustainable development from a Global perspective - Digitalization in a Changing

World - Managing Migration - Documentation and

Interpretation of Rock Art

If, as a course leader, you are interested in information about how you can integrate a course into the summer school, you can contact Elin Fransson. Summerschool@ gu.se!