To support the university's efforts in the field of sustainability, representatives from all six faculties have established a new scientific centre: the Centre for Transformations and Sustainable Futures (TRUST@UOL). Its purpose is to promote interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches and exchange among the faculties.

The goal is to bundle activities and create synergies in order to continue the successful work of the Centre for Environmental and Sustainability Research (COAST), which was founded in 2004. The new centre focuses in particular on a modern organisational structure. Ongoing research projects, teaching modules and collaborations will be further advanced and new projects initiated.

‘We are pooling approaches and resources for environmentally-oriented research and teaching and emphasising the university's focus on sustainability both nationally and internationally,’ said Centre Director and Professor of Business Informatics Jorge Marx Gómez at the official opening of the new centre. ‘TRUST@UOL offers a networking platform for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration among researchers and with numerous stakeholders from society.’

Sustainability as a cross-cutting issue

In the areas of research, teaching and transfer, the approximately 70 founding members want to jointly advance various projects related to sustainability. The centre's thematic priorities include, for example, issues relating to the environmentally friendly use of ecosystems, resilience and health, education for sustainable development, and the sustainable transformation of capital markets and organisations.

The focus is also on schools: after all, around 38 per cent of the university's students are studying to become teachers (as of the 2024/25 winter semester). ‘It is important to us to sensitise prospective teachers to issues relating to the environment and sustainability and to teach them how they can bring this knowledge into the classroom,’ says Ines Oldenburg, deputy director of the centre and scientific director at the Institute of Education. Research projects are also being planned that deal with the mental health and resilience strategies of children and young people in the face of current global challenges such as climate change and digitalisation. International research projects are also planned, for example with Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha (South Africa). 

‘The University of Oldenburg already has many building blocks within the various research disciplines, and the COAST centre has done valuable work here in recent years,’ emphasises Marx Gómez. With TRUST@UOL, the university is taking the next steps to present and communicate concrete solutions from research for society in the spirit of sustainability. ‘New members are always welcome and can actively contribute to the centre,’ says Malena Ripken, managing director of TRUST@UOL.  

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