Big News: We’re lighting the TORCH for Sustainability in Higher Education!
We’re thrilled to share that our project TORCH – Transformative Teaching Architecture for Sustainability at the University of Kassel has been selected for funding through the national initiative “Lehrarchitekturen” by the Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre. The program officially launches in October 2025, and the countdown has begun!
What’s TORCH all about?
Over the past years, more than 100 modules on sustainability topics have emerged across all 10 faculties and the School of Art at Kassel University. TORCH builds on this vibrant groundwork to develop a truly transformative, university-wide teaching architecture for sustainability — academic, practical, interdisciplinary, and deeply human.
Our approach is rooted in four proven innovation potentials:
- Fostering transformative competencies
- Enhancing interdisciplinarity and practice-oriented learning
- Supporting personal development and value orientation
- Strengthening critical and reflective thinking
Three main goals guide TORCH:
- Designing transformative learning experiences for students
- Empowering and inspiring educators
- Building a connected teaching and learning community for sustainability
We’re joining forces with central university institutions, embedding project-based learning, global perspectives, and reflective formats into our teaching practice. And we’ll shine a light on the different changemakers in various fields of research, work, activism or arts who are already leading the way.
What impact are we aiming for?
- A distinct sustainability profile in the study programs
- A reflective, collaborative community of learners and teachers
- A model for sustainability teaching beyond Kassel
- Empowered students and educators as changemakers
We can’t wait to get started together with our faculties and the School of Art, university administration, partners for practical phases, and of course our students.
Let’s transform higher education — together. Stay tuned to learn about the next steps on this channel and www.uni-kassel.de.
