Sustainability in Teaching

Sustainability is a core component of engineering education at TU Hamburg. The aim is to enable students to shape technological developments responsibly and in a climate-conscious manner. To this end, TU Hamburg combines academic depth with interdisciplinary teaching formats, practical applications, and innovative learning environments.

Degree programmes and a wide range of courses

Sustainability-related issues already play an important role in many degree programmes, for example in programmes focusing on environmental engineering, sustainable materials, or resource-efficient processes. This is complemented by a broad range of courses across all fields of study that address the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability. Examples include “Digital and Sustainable Construction”, “Sustainable Mobility”, “Sustainability in Process Engineering”, “Sustainable Industrial Production”, “Responsible Management: Sustainability, Compliance and Control”, and “Environmental Protection and Sustainability”.

Degree programmes within TU Hamburg’s portfolio with an explicit sustainability focus include the Bachelor’s programmes Civil and Environmental Engineering and Green Technologies, as well as the Master’s programme Environmental Engineering.

Extended learning opportunities and cross-cutting qualifications

In addition to subject-specific courses, the non-technical teaching programme offers a wide range of opportunities to explore sustainability from societal and economic perspectives. Students also have access to additional qualification formats such as the SDG Campus, the ECIU University, and the CampusLabs — learning spaces that promote hands-on experience, international collaboration, and interdisciplinary competencies.

Structural development of teaching

Supported by third-party funded projects from the Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre, TU Hamburg is also working to embed sustainability structurally and sustainably within its curricula over the long term. Step by step, this is creating a teaching portfolio that not only conveys sustainability competencies, but makes them tangible and experienceable throughout the entire course of study.

SDG Campus

Zwei Studierende am Laptop in einer Projektarbeit

The SDG Campus is an inter-university learning platform that enables students to explore sustainable technologies, processes, and methods in line with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Through self-paced courses and interdisciplinary group formats, students engage critically and creatively with complex sustainability challenges and develop their own solution approaches.

By combining foundational knowledge, practical relevance, and transdisciplinary collaboration, the SDG Campus specifically fosters the skills and competencies required to actively shape a sustainable future.

Studierende beim CampusLab on Global Soil Health. Das Lab befindet sich auf einer grünen Wiese. Die Studierenden nehmen verschiedene Bodenproben.

The CampusLabs at TU Hamburg are interdisciplinary research spaces in which new technologies and solutions for a sustainable future are developed.

Students work closely with researchers, engage in hands-on experimentation, and directly link their studies to current real-world challenges.

At the same time, the Labs serve as an interface with society: through workshops, outreach activities, and collaborations, research outcomes are made visible and brought into dialogue with industry, policy, and the wider public.

Studierende der ECIU University, die sich freuen und dabei die Arme in die Luft reißen

The ECIU University opens up international learning environments for students at TU Hamburg, in which sustainable solutions to real societal challenges are developed.

Within interdisciplinary challenges, teams collaborate with companies and communities and apply Challenge-Based Learning to develop innovative responses to issues related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

In addition, Micro-Modules offer opportunities to acquire new competencies in a targeted way and to broaden perspectives — ranging from technical skills to key qualifications for a sustainable future.

Vier Studierende im Seminar, die aufmerksam zuhören.

Within the non-technical teaching programme at TU Hamburg, students select courses based on their individual interests that complement their technical studies with societal, cultural, and sustainability-related perspectives.

Alongside a wide range of thematic profiles, courses with a sustainability focus in particular provide space for reflection and critical thinking — for example on climate crises, climate fiction, sustainable healthcare, or TUHH Goes Circular, where the challenges and opportunities of the circular economy are explored using real-life examples at TUHH.

The current course catalogue provides information on all available courses and their respective thematic emphases.

Nachwuchs@TUHH - cooperation with schools

The NachwuchsCampus at TU Hamburg inspires children and young people to engage with STEM subjects and questions related to a sustainable future.

At the MINT Experience Day, pupils explore technology and research at interactive stations — often with a focus on climate protection and innovative solutions.

Complementary formats such as Kniffelix.de, the Curiosity Cube, and the experiment kits provided by KinderForscher offer exciting, low-threshold access to science and sustainable technologies.

In this way, the NachwuchsCampus fosters curiosity, understanding, and the ability to actively shape the world of tomorrow from an early age.