Science Minister Petra Olschowski traveled to Scotland with a 34-member delegation on October 29. The delegation spent four days visiting universities and research institutions in Glasgow, St. Andrews and Edinburgh. The trip focused on climate protection and sustainability strategies, their social acceptance and the shortage of skilled workers in the STEM sector.
The delegation trip, led by Minister Petra Olschowski, was mainly attended by members of university management, researchers and members of the state parliament - including members of the rectorates of the universities of Freiburg, Heidelberg, Tübingen and Ulm as well as the universities of applied sciences, the Cooperative State University and the universities of art and music. The delegation was welcomed by Graeme Dey, the Scottish Minister for Higher and Further Education, among others. Both Scotland and Baden-Württemberg have set themselves ambitious climate protection targets: they are partners in the so-called "Under2 Coalition". Universities and research institutions in both countries are linked by joint scientific projects and exchange programs - even after Brexit.
Climate protection as a global challenge
"In order to tackle the greatest challenges of our time, we need to work together across borders, pool our expertise and learn from the best - especially in Europe," says Science Minister Petra Olschowski. "The program of visits, from emission-free campuses to green culture, and the discussions show that We share common values and goals with our Scottish partners; on the path to a green future, our universities and research institutions can do pioneering work together. We want to further strengthen this socially relevant cooperation between Scotland and Baden-Württemberg." Prof. Dr. Katja Rade, Rector of HFT Stuttgart, emphasizes: "The delegation trip by the Minister for Science, Research and the Arts, Petra Olschowski, to Glasgow, St. Andrews and Edinburgh has encouraged us to jointly implement the SDGs at universities. Learning about the solutions we are already successfully working on in both countries and the transnational goal of training our students even more to become "self-effective climate changers" encourages us that we can achieve our sustainability and climate goals. We look forward to inspiring and effective collaborations to make a significant contribution to climate neutrality in 2030."
Stops on the delegation trip at a glance
The first stop on the delegation trip was Glasgow - with visits to the Glasgow School of Art, with which the Stuttgart Media University is cooperating, and the University of Strathclyde/the National Manufacturing Institute of Scotland. Topics ranged from new climate and sustainability-related degree courses and job profiles to green culture. The next stop was the University of St. Andrews. This long-established institution aims to become the UK's first carbon-neutral university by 2035. One building block is the conversion of a former paper mill into a biomass cogeneration plant that supplies the campus with energy. On the last day of the trip, the delegation visited the University of Edinburgh, one of the best universities in the world. The focus was on the university's climate strategy in its concrete implementation and teaching.
Background to the trip to Scotland
The trip to Scotland was prompted by the participation of Baden-Württemberg's Minister President Winfried Kretschmann in the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. This gave rise to the desire to promote climate protection in cooperation with Scotland.
Source: Press release from the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg
Fig. left: Professor Katja Rade, Rector HFT Stuttgart, Bastian Kaiser, Dirk Sporleder, graduate of HFR and freelance forester in Scotland, Minister of Science Petra Olschowski MdL, Neil Cleland, Depute Head of Scottish School of Forestry, Prof. Harald Thorwarth, Prof. for Combustion Technology HFR. (from left to right)
Fig. right: Katja Rade (center): "We are looking forward to inspiring and implementation-strong collaborations for a significant contribution to climate neutrality in 2030."
