The idea of sustainability, which was coined more than 300 years ago by Freiberg's chief mining administrator Hans Carl von Carlowitz, has always been anchored as a cross-cutting theme in teaching and research at our university. It is not for nothing that we are a national resource university.
As one of the few universities, we are dedicated to teaching and research along the entire value creation cycle, from exploration to extraction, processing, treatment and recycling, thereby making an important contribution to sustainably securing the supply of raw materials and energy for modern society.
Sustainability in general and the careful, responsible use of resources in particular have currently reached an unprecedented level of importance; the sustainable development of our society is considered one of the most important tasks of our time. As research and educational institutions and as an integral part of social life, universities have a central role to play. The TU Bergakademie Freiberg is taking on this task and facing up to the associated challenges. In the form of the Prorectorate for Sustainability and Communication, the idea of sustainability was visibly anchored at university management level at the end of 2023.
Even before this, other institutions were already dealing with (in particular the ecological facet of) sustainability, including in particular:
In addition, members of all faculties are dedicated to sustainability-related topics in their respective disciplines in teaching, research, projects and transfer activities. The Prorectorate does not presume to have any knowledge in this area and therefore does not intervene; rather, it would like to inform you about sustainability at our university, be a collection point for suggestions and also a source of inspiration. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at any time! We are also open to ideas, requests and suggestions, currently in particular as part of the joint project "Future Forum Climate-Friendly Universities (ZKH)".
The TU Bergakademie Freiberg offers excellent framework conditions for long-term successful spin-offs from the various specialist areas. We can look back on a large number of successful and ambitious spin-offs that have been realised in recent years and on numerous start-up projects that are currently being supported. We are working to continuously strengthen the start-up environment and cooperation with the business community.
The start-up network SAXEED has a significant influence on start-up behaviour at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. The SAXEED start-up network offers a wide range of support and opens up valuable contacts for those interested in starting a business. The female founders programme FOUNDress also provides targeted support for female founders. The support programme is aimed at all those associated with the university and includes graduates as well as students and staff.
Numerous courses at TU Bergakademie Freiberg aim to integrate start-up-related content into the various degree programmes. This also includes interdisciplinary teaching formats in which students work across faculties on technical or scientific solutions, for example, and evaluate them from an entrepreneurial perspective. Ultimately, TU Bergakademie Freiberg also contributes to the promotion of product and process innovations.
Approaches for joint (development) work with industry - also in the area of small and medium-sized enterprises - are always welcome. This may be due to the use of the infrastructure of TU Bergakademie Freiberg, for example, if such equipment is not available in the SME context. Please feel free to contact us at any time with such enquiries!"
Prorectorate team
