Together with its partners in the EuroTech Universities Alliance, TU/e has released a seven-point Declaration on sustainability. In this declaration the six partner institutions commit to integration and development of sustainability in such areas as education, research and community building. The common commitment to sustainability is an international strengthening of policies TU/e is already putting into practice.
Within the EuroTech Alliance, six leading European universities of Science and Technology join their forces to elaborate ambitious joint research projects on a European scale in priority areas such as artificial intelligence, sustainable development, health, and bio-engineering. Next to TU/e the partner institutions are École Polytechnique, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.
Seven-point declaration for sustainability
During his mandate as EuroTech president, Éric Labaye has made the common commitment to sustainability a priority. Over the past year, the partner universities have reinforced their collaboration to establish a joint research agenda for sustainability, to further integrate sustainable development into their teaching curricula, and to harness innovation for sustainable development. Each institution also pursues its plan to achieve a green campus.
On March 28th, 2023, the symposium "EuroTech Universities: An alliance working for global sustainability" brought together academic staff, students, operational directors, and the leadership of the six EuroTech partner universities at École Polytechnique. As a direct outcome of the meeting, the presidents of EuroTech's member institutions now publish a seven-point "Declaration for Sustainability", to drive the EuroTech universities' shift towards sustainability.
The EuroTech Universities of Science and Technology
- are committed to sustainable development, embodied by the 17 sustainable development goals of the United Nations adopted in 2015 as the prime challenge for humanity today.
- will integrate the challenges posed by sustainable development in initial education and life-long training as a principal responsibility to train students and professionals to solve key scientific, technological, and societal challenges.
- commit to advancing the frontiers of knowledge, technology, and innovation as essential tools for achieving absolute sustainability and will develop original technological solutions needed to address the world's acute problems.
- recognize that technological development and scale-up must be complemented by behavioral changes to ensure responsible consumption, to avoid strain on the environment, and to reach a circular economy.
- are Living Labs committed to implementing sustainable solutions across their campuses, training, research, and innovation activities.
- commit to mobilizing their entire community as drivers of transformation through a collaborative, participative, inclusive and transparent approach.
- will also activate their global partner network to reach societal wellbeing and global sustainability.
The strategic alliance bundles the member universities' expertise in research and education for the construction of a strong, sustainable, sovereign, and resilient Europe. Éric Labaye, Chairman and President of École Polytechnique, has been invested with the EuroTech Universities Alliance presidency in June 2022 for a one-year period. The presidency rotates among the partner institutions' presidents every twelve months.
Labaye: "With this declaration, we confirm our joint efforts to do all we can to tackle the current challenges faced by society, science, and technology. To succeed, we must increase and intensify our collaboration within EuroTech, in all our areas of activity: research, initial and life-long education, and innovation."
