Spring is heating up for EUSTEPs partners, as they’re gearing up to deliver significant milestones for the project – now in its third year. Starting March 28, they will meet in Portugal for a week-long work session hosted by Universidade Aberta in Lisbon. Their agenda is packed full, from putting the finishing touches on the upcoming MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) to introducing the brand new University Footprint Calculator to the academic world.
Joint staff training event
Eighteen participants from the EUSTEPs project’s four university partners and Global Footprint Network will discuss the material that has been produced for the MOOC in order to finalize the course content. The EUSTEPs MOOC is to be made widely available by Universidade Aberta on its online platform by June (stay tuned for details).
In addition, participants will share the Ecological Footprint assessments that were performed for each university partner by educators, researchers, PhD students, and administrative staff members at different points in time using the new University Calculator. A big part of the conversation will focus on identifying pressure points and action levers, as well as brainstorming to come up with preliminary recommendations to reduce the Ecological Footprint of each university.
The University Footprint Calculator is ready for prime time!
Now that EUSTEPs partners pioneered their universities’ Ecological Footprint assessment, they are excited at the prospect of being in good company. The April 1st launch of the University Footprint Calculator will give any university easy access to the right toolset to assess its Ecological Footprint, guide its sustainability strategy, and track its progress. Being an EU-funded project, EUSTEPs has been designed to make its deliverables, including the University Footprint Calculator, available to all European universities, regardless of location.
Multiplier Event: How to reduce the Ecological Footprint of universities
On launch day, April 1st, the University Footprint Calculator will be presented by EUSTEPs partners during a workshop designed for all HEI academic staff (educators, professors, researchers), non-academic staff (administrative and technical), and management bodies, as well as anyone interested in deepening their understanding of sustainability practices in HEIs. EUSTEPs academic partners’ result highlights will be shared, as well as some of the recommendations for improvement that were identified earlier in the week during the joint staff training event.
The multiplier event will be a hybrid in-person/online event in Lisbon. Some 30 representatives of national Portuguese association and local governments are expected to attend. More information and registration for the online portion of the event are available here.