W(u)eShare: Sharing, swapping, meeting people
11/10/2026Students’ ideas can bring about lasting change on campus. The W(u)eShare project has seen a transformation experiment give rise to long-term structures for communal sharing and exchange.
As part of the student-led transformation experiment W(u)eShare at the WueLAB sustainability laboratory, Timo Stiller has created spaces on campus where sustainable consumption and social interaction come together: through one lending cupboard and two swap cupboards, students and university staff can share and swap items.
One swap cupboard is located in the entrance area of the Canteen Campus Hubland Süd, whilst another is situated in front of the building at Emil-Hilb-Weg 22 on the Hubland-Nord campus. The lending cabinet, the ‘Spieleboxx’, can also be found there. It is due to move to a location near the Mensateria in spring 2027.
Getting involved with the lending and swap cupboards
W(u)eShare is currently in its final phase. An important step towards ensuring the project’s long-term future has already been taken: the University’s Sports Centre will continue to run the Spieleboxx; Dr Andreas Petko will take over its management. Anyone interested in helping to organise and manage the Spieleboxx can contact him at andreas.petko@uni-wuerzburg.de
The two swap cupboards are also set to remain in place permanently. Anyone wishing to get involved in their use and further development can contact WueLAB at wuelab@uni-wuerzburg.de
More than just a sustainability project
For the students involved, WueShare was not just a sustainability project, but also a learning environment. They independently developed concepts for organising and installing the swap and lending cupboards, engaged in dialogue with various stakeholder groups within the university, and took responsibility for putting their ideas into practice.
The project also offered the opportunity to combine academic and practical experience, for example by presenting findings at the international ‘Economy for the Common Good Conference 2026’.
New approaches, such as the concept of ‘exchange cupboard mentors’, were also developed. The mentors look after the cupboards: they organise opening them during the day when the weather is fine, lock them in the evening, remove rubbish and keep the cupboards clean.
The experience gained through the project attracted interest beyond the university: local initiatives asked the students about their insights and experiences in setting up and running the swap cupboards. This helped to strengthen key skills in transdisciplinary collaboration, project management and sustainable transformation processes.
Submit new ideas by 15 January 2027
Student-led transformation experiments such as W(u)eShare demonstrate how students can help shape the university as a space for living, learning and research. They offer the opportunity to test sustainability ideas under real-world conditions, to monitor them scientifically and, in doing so, to gain practical experience in project management, participation and transformative research.
At the same time, concrete impetus is generated for more sustainable university development by developing and testing innovative solutions together with university staff and integrating them into university structures in the long term.
This is also in line with the WueLAB’s approach of scientifically supporting and researching sustainability transformations through practical experiments on campus.
Students can develop such projects based on their own ideas or as part of seminar or research projects. The next deadline for submissions is 15 January 2027.
