Sustainable Development Academy | SDA

The Sustainable Development Academy (SDA) allows participants to engage critically and effectively with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The overall goal of the program is to enable participants to adopt creative approaches to achieving sustainability goals in their communities.

In a first introduction during opening and morning lectures participants will learn about the scope and interdependent nature of the 17 sustainability goals. A central question will be the status quo of the implementation process of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its goals. Focusing then on a few selected SDG (SDG 2: Zero Hunger, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production) participants will experience how to implement sustainable goals in specific fields of action.

During the study groups, students put their knowledge into practice while working collaboratively on case studies and modeling creative solutions to social, ecological and economic problems.

Potsdam, a city of science close to Berlin, is home to leading research institutions in the fields of climate research and sustainability. To gain insight into the work of experts and practitioners, participants will have the chance to attend two site visits to local institutions.

Finally, in two workshops participants will be offered different job-skill offers such as project management, design thinking or creative problem solving.