RealTransform project
About the project
The RealTransform project was launched on 01.04.2025 and will run until 31.03.2027. The project is one of 16 projects funded by swissuniversities' Projektgebundene Beiträge (PgB). UZH is the leading house. Cooperation partners are the University of Bern and the PH Bern as well as the OST - Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences. The network for transdisciplinary research (td-net) is an accompanying partner.
The aim is to contribute to a university culture for sustainable development. This requires new forms of cooperation and knowledge building. In the project, we are therefore testing so-called real-life experiments at all participating universities. Various stakeholders work equally on a specific issue of sustainable development. Members of administration, technical staff, scientists and students work together on a problem and develop solutions for the university. This is intended to contribute to a new culture of cooperation.
The project aims to develop a scientifically sound understanding of real-world experiments conducted within universities. It also examines methodological aspects of transdisciplinarity, participation, and the involvement of societal stakeholders, while addressing fundamental questions of co-production. Additionally, the project investigates how real-world experiments and living labs can contribute to transforming university culture – and where their limitations are. To strengthen sustainability cultures within higher education, the project will establish and develop both university-internal and cross-university Communities of Practice (CoP). These CoPs, along with the implementation of real-world experiments, will help build the skills needed for this new form of collaboration for sustainable development.
Contact Project Manager: Dr. Jeannette Behringer, University of Zurich
Write an email to Dr. Jeannette Behringer