Project TORCH

The TORCH project - Transformative Teaching and Learning on Sustainability at the University of Kassel aims to develop an innovative teaching architecture for the systematic integration of sustainability into studies and teaching. Building on over 300 existing sustainability modules in all ten faculties and the School of Art, new, transformative educational formats are being created to enable students and lecturers to actively participate in the socio-ecological transformation.

The focus is on three overarching goals: Firstly, the design of transformative learning processes for students, for example through project-based learning with project modules, international exchange formats, spaces for reflection for personal development and targeted visualization of student projects. Secondly, the support and motivation of teachers through didactic training formats such as team teaching, international teaching cooperation, digital resources and workshops for joint reflection and further development of teaching concepts. Thirdly, the establishment of a networked, interdisciplinary sustainability teaching and learning community at the University of Kassel, involving students, lecturers and external partners - for example from politics, business and civil society.

The project is organized by the Kassel Institute for Sustainability and implemented in cooperation with central university institutions such as the Green Office, the Teaching Service Center and the International Office. The structural foundations include three study models: Integrated Sustainability Studies (iNaS) as a supplement to existing degree courses, the new interdisciplinary Bachelor's degree course in Sustainability Sciences (Nawis) as well as various Master's programs that can be linked to it.

TORCH aims to make it possible to experience sustainability as a transformative profile focus of the University of Kassel in the courses on offer. Students and lecturers should see themselves as “changemakers” who contribute their knowledge to social processes. The breadth and depth of the project makes it a model for other universities. A two-stage impact monitoring system will be implemented for quality assurance purposes: internal evaluations (e.g. teaching evaluation, study progress analyses) and external procedures (e.g. SWOT analyses, participative formats). The project will run in two phases: from October 2025 to the end of 2029 (Phase I) and from January 2030 to September 2031 (Phase II).

The TORCH project is funded by the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education (Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre).