The TU Bergakademie Freiberg is developing a new Bachelor’s degree programme that, right from the start, confronts students with real-world challenges relating to the safe and circular management of natural and technical resources, whilst imparting scientific expertise in the management of transformation processes. This is made possible by funding from the ‘Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education’. The university is one of 37 higher education institutions across Germany whose projects were selected for funding as part of the ‘The World is My Campus’ call for proposals.
As part of the funded project “Transformers for Sustainable Futures”, a Bachelor’s degree programme in “Resource Ecology and Transformation Management” is being developed, due to start in the winter semester of 2027/28. What makes it special is that practical projects not only complement the course but form the starting point for the entire teaching concept.
From the very beginning, students work with businesses, public authorities and other societal stakeholders on specific regional transformation tasks. The aim is to apply academic methods directly in practice and to develop and communicate sustainable solutions.
For TU Bergakademie Freiberg, the new degree programme fits in with its profile as a ‘resource university’ and, at the same time, with the changing expectations of a new generation of students. The Bachelor’s programme combines academic expertise with practice-oriented projects and is aimed at students who are interested in both environmental science and technology, possess social awareness, and wish to understand and actively shape societal contexts. With this funded programme, the TU Bergakademie Freiberg is also responding to the growing demand for specialists who possess technical, environmental and economic skills, as well as social and communication skills, enabling them to tackle transformation tasks in an interdisciplinary manner.
The degree programme is being developed on an inter-faculty basis in collaboration with the university’s central departments. Professor Gari Walkowitz from the Faculty of Economics and Junior Professor Conrad Jackisch from the Faculty of Geosciences, Geotechnical Engineering and Mining are leading the academic direction of the conceptual phase, together with other academics from various disciplines at the university. Students will also be actively involved in the development of the degree programme from the very beginning.
“The challenges of ensuring a sustainable supply of raw materials and the energy transition require collaboration between various partners from business, public administration and society. That is why we are developing a degree programme in which students work together with these partners on real-world transformation projects right from the start,” says Prof. Dr Swanhild Bernstein, Vice-Rector for Teaching, Studies and Lifelong Learning at TU Bergakademie Freiberg.
The new “Centre for Transfer and Start-ups” at TU Bergakademie Freiberg also plays an important role. It supports the development of a network comprising companies, public authorities and other industry partners who bring real-world challenges into the teaching programme and work with students to develop solutions for specific transformation processes.
The project team will commence its work in July 2026. Further information on the degree programme and the application process will be published at the end of this year.
The “Transformers for Sustainable Futures” project will receive a total of 2 million euros in funding until 30 June 2030. Find out more.
