Advancing Environmental Sustainability in the Higher Education Sector
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE¹
¹All in Irish Standard Time (IST)
Day 1 – Monday, October 20, 2025
08:15AM–09:00AM
09:00AM–09:15AM
Opening remarks
09:15AM–09:30AM
Welcoming words by MTU president Maggie Cusack (TBC)
09:30AM–10:15AM
Keynote
Mark O’Hara (European Association for Institutional Research (EAIR) & Advance HE): Quality Education – Under development, not underdeveloped
10:15AM–11:15AM
Keynote
Henriette Stoeber (European University Assocation): Environmental Sustainability in European Higher Education Institutions
11:00AM–11:15AM
Refreshment break
11:15AM–12:00PM
Keynote:
Gesche Kindermann (University of Galway): Sustainability at the University of Galway: Trying to learn, live and lead on sustainability at an Irish Higher Education Institution
12:00AM–01:30PM
Paper Session 1: Education & Behavioral Change
Moderator: Ruaidhri Neavyn, HEA
Gwen Lettis et al.: Widening the reach of a digital tool for core and responsible student behaviour development.
Carla Ferreira et al.: Sustainability Assessment Tools in Higher Education: The Portuguese case.
Rowan Obermann et al.: Using participative creative arts projects to mediate sustainability engagement in HEIs
01:30PM– 2:15PM
Lunch break
02:15PM–03:45PM
Paper Session 2: Strategic Implementation & Assessment
Moderator: Ruaidhri Neavyn, HEA
Seamus Hoyne: Exploring a future-orientated framework for sustainability planning in higher education: Insights from a Comprehensive Literature Review
Frank Ulbrich: A structured, multi-level institutional framework for embedding the Sustainable Development Goals in Higher Education Institutions.
03:45PM–04:15PM
Keynote
Jouni Kekäle (University of Eastern Finland): Higher Education Institutions’ Roles in Climate Change Mitigation
04:15PM–04:45PM
Keynote
Leyla Azizi (Technical University Dresden): Operationalizing the Whole-Institution Paradigm: Participatory Approach to Sustainability Assessment Development in German Higher Education
04:45PM–05:00PM
Refreshment and End of Day 1
07:00PM
Dinner
Day 2 – Tuesday, October 21, 2025
08:00AM–08:30AM
Get together & Refreshments
08:30AM–09:00AM
Presenting the GET AHED project I:
GET-AHED and the Green Self-Assessment toolkit (Verena Régent, Barbara Gabriel Coehlo, Robertt Valente)
09:00AM–10:30AM
Paper Session 3: Communication & Applied Practice
Moderator: Daniel Pavlov, Ruse University
Noel Murray: FoodTuristic
10:30AM–10:45AM
Refreshment break
10:45AM–11:30AM
Presenting the GET AHED project II:
Green Training, Green Case Studies & the overall platform (Rebecca Robinson, Elias Eder, Jeremiah Spillane, Darragh Coakley)
11:30AM–12:15PM
Keynote
Verena Rohlf-Liszt (University of Applied Sciences Burgenland): Effectuation-Oriented Entrepreneurship Education – Embedding existing resources in higher education teaching
12:15PM–01:00PM
Lunch
01:00PM–01:45PM
Pitches
Moderator: B. Gabriel Coehlo / R. Valente (University of Aveiro)
Marit de Kort et al.: Towards Green (Bio)medical Education: Tools and Insights from UMC Utrecht’s Planetary Health Integration Team
Noel Murray: Waste to Taste.
Diarmuid Grime et al.: Interplay between University Timetabling and Sustainability in Higher Education
01:45PM–02:00PM
Closing Reflections
02:00PM
End of Day 2
Location: Hincks Centre for Entrepreneurship Excellence, Munster Technological University Campus, Bishopstown, Cork, Ireland, T12 P928
There is no conference fee for attending or presenting at the GET-AHED Conference (we only ask for a small contribution for dinner in case you would like to join). We are dedicated to making this event accessible and impactful for everyone involved.
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To register for the conference, please click on the button below and fill out the form!
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Conference Themes
We welcome contributions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Institutional strategies to embed sustainability in HEI operations
- Methods and experiences in sustainability self-assessment in HE
- Development of indicators for measuring and assessing sustainability performance in the HE context
- Design and delivery of effective sustainability training for HE students, staff, and management
- Good practices and innovative approaches in energy management and green operations at HEIs
- Participatory approaches and community engagement practices for facilitating green transformation in HE
- Digital tools and platforms that support institutional sustainability transitions
- Results and lessons learned from pilot implementations and related projects in sustainability
More information or questions
Contact us at get-ahed@wpz-research.com or subscribe for our newsletter
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GET-AHED (Green Education and Transition – A Higher Education Digital Buddy) is an Erasmus+ funded initiative aimed at supporting and empowering higher education institutions (HEIs) in their green transition.
The main objective of the project has been to develop an online platform designed to support HEIs in improving their sustainability performance.
The platform includes three core tools:
(1) HE Green Assessment – a process-oriented sustainability self-assessment tool that delivers actionable insights into sustainability performance, highlighting areas for improvement and linking to helpful resources;
(2) HE Green Champion – a training tool offering up-to-date specialised learning materials for students, staff, and leadership to strengthen institutional sustainability efforts; and
(3) HE Green Zero – a collection of good practices and resources mainly focused on helping universities reduce their energy use and move towards using clean energy sources, with the ultimate goal of net-zero energy campuses.