Sustainability Festival at Jönköping University

On 5-9 October, Jönköping University Sustainability Festival: “Partnership for our future” is organized. The event is mainly digital, but also offers physical tours of several urban farming locations in Jönköping.

All seminars and presentations will be in English.

JU Sustainability Festival (JUSF) begins with Sustainable Innovation Race 5-7 October. The event is organized by Jönköping University (JU) and Science Park. During the Innovation Race, students from JU are assigned case studies from six participating companies and their task is to come up with solutions to sustainability challenges.

“This is a unique setting where students have the possibility to collaborate within JU and be innovate during 24 hours. The purpose is to make sustainability related recommendations for regional businesses,” says Guénola Nonet, chairperson for Jönköping University Sustainability Network (JUSN), which is organizing the JUSF.

With the Innovation Race, JUSN wants to inspire small and medium-sized companies to re-think their business, services and products to contribute to a healthier world where we keep our activities within our planetary boundaries.

“The students who participate in the Innovation Race are extremely happy about this unique opportunity and we hope to continue with the Innovation Race annually,“ says Guénola Nonet.

Innovation Race usually takes place at the companies, but due to the corona pandemic, the event has been moved to the JU campus. The participating students will receive digital lectures on how to be creative, and present and pitch a business idea. Representatives from the six companies will be on campus during the Innovation Race. The students will also have access to a group of experts in various fields, who can help them solve their tasks. On Wednesday afternoon a winner will be chosen among the participating students.

Sustainability Day 8 oktober

Guénola Nonet from JU Sustainability Network will open the Sustainability Day on 8 October. Students, JU staff and representatives from Region Jönköping, Jönköping municipality and other organizations are invited to network and brainstorm ideas for a brighter and more sustainable future during digital meetings.

“We look forward to inspiring students, staff and other stakeholders to work for sustainability,” says Jonelija Zelic from JUSN and continues:

“Higher education institutions has a great role to play to help remain below 1.5 degree increase. We need to act fast, to create awareness amongst educators, transform classes and make sure that all our graduating students are informed on sustainability issues.”

Jonelija Zelic and the other board members in JUSN hope that the Sustainability Festival can act as a catalyst to inspire colleagues and students at JU, but also the entire municipality of Jönköping to do more in a sustainability context and for the sustainability development goals.

“JUSF is a good start, but we need more. We need to transform our education, we need to include human and environmental sustainability in all teaching activities and we need to do this in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders,” says Andreas Friberg from JUSN.