National Award – Education for Sustainable Development for JMU

10/07/2025

Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) has become the first comprehensive university in Germany to receive the National Award – Education for Sustainable Development.

Professor Markus Riederer, who coordinated JMU’s application, presents the awards of the National Award – Education for Sustainable Development to President Paul Pauli and Vice President Anja Schlömerkemper. (Image: Robert Emmerich / Universität Würzburg)

The award is presented by the Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth (BMBFSFJ), together with the German Commission for UNESCO, and recognises institutions and initiatives that advance Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

In total, ten awards were presented across four categories. JMU received the prize in the “Learning Venues” category for its concept to systemically integrate ESD into teaching across all disciplines. The award has since been presented at an event in Berlin.

As part of the ceremony, Dr Thomas Greiner (BMBFSFJ) delivered a laudation, stating: “With great pleasure, we congratulate the University of Würzburg on the National Award for Education for Sustainable Development. In doing so, we honour not only its outstanding commitment, but also its visionary role in the sustainable transformation of higher education. The University of Würzburg is well on its way to becoming an international pioneer in the comprehensive integration of ESD into research, teaching and campus life. Particularly noteworthy are the drive and determination with which all university groups have actively participated in the transformation process from the very beginning. They demonstrate impressively that genuine participation not only strengthens sustainable development but also fuels innovation.”

The German Commission for UNESCO has asked the production company forStory to produce short image videos for the award winners. The video about JMU is available on the university's YouTube channel.

Goal: ESD as a Part of All Degree Programmes

Commenting on the award, JMU President Paul Pauli said: “We have set ourselves the goal of further developing Education for Sustainable Development on a scientific basis and making it a permanent component of all degree programmes – always in line with the requirements of academic education and teaching at a comprehensive university. The National Award confirms that we are on an excellent path!”

“The integration of Education for Sustainable Development into teaching across all subjects marks an important milestone in the further development of JMU’s range of study programmes,” emphasised Andreas Dörpinghaus, Vice President for Studies, Teaching and Quality Management. “By promoting sustainability competencies across disciplines, we enable our students to make well-founded decisions in the spirit of sustainability in their future professional and societal roles and to act responsibly.”

Interdisciplinary Study Programme is Under Development

Under the title “A comprehensive university on the path towards Education for Sustainable Development as a cross-cutting task”, JMU applied under the leadership of Professor Markus Riederer. The award-winning concept aims to equip all students with both interdisciplinary and subject-specific knowledge, as well as competencies for sustainable development – among other things, through the digital study programme “Interdisciplinary Sustainability Studies”, currently under development, for students from all disciplines.

Teaching staff are supported by the higher education didactics training programme “Higher Education for Sustainable Development”, jointly offered by the Centre for Academic Education and Teaching and the WueLAB Sustainability Lab. Both educational offerings are anchored in JMU’s Sustainability Strategy, which has been in effect since August 2024, and will be translated into concrete measures in 2025 through target agreements between the faculties and university leadership.

“JMU demonstrates a possible pathway for embedding ESD at comprehensive universities and thus serves as a role model,” said Anja Schlömerkemper, Vice President for Equal Opportunities, Career Development and Sustainability. “By embedding ESD, we strengthen our view of the interconnections and challenges of our world and foster the competencies needed to meet them as effectively as possible – grounded in scientific evidence.”

The initiative for the ESD concept originated within the university, where actors from all faculties have since been fostering exchange across disciplines and status groups, driven by the “Teaching4Sustainability” transformation experiment at the WueLAB Sustainability Lab. Regular networking meetings among all status groups provide impetus for implementing ESD at JMU.