Renewable energy systems, and heat pumps in particular, continue to gain in importance, and not only in Germany: Six students from Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) took part in the "International Joint Graduate Course on Sustainable Energy" (IJGC) from July 10 to 21. This year, the interdisciplinary summer school was organized by Waseda University in Tokyo. The course, which was attended by 26 students from Germany, Japan, Korea, the USA and China, focused on new and future energy technologies worldwide - from the provision and conversion to the use of energy. The IJGC was held for the eighth time in total.

During the course days, lectures, excursions as well as group work projects took place. Topics included energy supply from renewable sources and the various thermodynamic cycle processes, especially for air conditioning or heat pump applications. The aim was for students to develop their own vision in an international environment of how sustainable energy sources could be used in the future and how this could be achieved. The participating students drew a positive conclusion: "In addition to the technical aspects, we particularly enjoyed the work in international teams and the associated cultural exchange." Professor Arne Speerforck, head of the TUHH Institute of Technical Thermodynamics was also satisfied: "The course was a great success again this year."

The students, professors and lecturers came from the TUHH, the University of Maryland, Shanghai Jia Tong University, Waseda University in Tokyo and Korea University in Seoul. The next "International Joint Graduate Course on Sustainable Energy" is expected to take place in Shanghai.