Spring Academy Sustainability 2026 What is sustainable circular economy?

The project week is organized by General Studies. Forum Science and Society (FORUM) in cooperation with the interdisciplinary Collaborative Research Center 1574 "Circular Factory for the Perpetual Product" at KIT. In addition, the Spring Academy is an anniversary event celebrating 10 years of EGTC Eucor. 

Through a public keynote, a thematic exhibition, a wide range of workshops and excursions, and a final panel discussion, participants will explore the various dimensions of circular economy and sustainability. The program offers opportunities to engage critically with key debates and to actively examine the challenges and potentials of circular practices.

The circular economy promises to conserve resources: things should last longer, produce less waste, and require fewer new raw materials. For this to work, products must be designed so that they are easy to repair, parts are interchangeable, and they can be used for a long time. In addition, new ways of sharing things are needed—for example, through sharing services or subscriptions. We also need more places where people can return, repair, or refurbish items. 

In reality, however, this is not so easy. Often there is a lack of incentives, the processes are complicated, or we are simply used to different routines. Sometimes the opposite of what is desired happens: when car sharing is very convenient, some people suddenly drive more than before. 

At the Spring Academy 2026, we will look at how new technology, economic ideas, political rules, and our everyday lives are connected when it comes to the circular economy—and where the problems lie. Together, we want to find out which current approaches are promising, where they fail, and where conflicts of interest arise. We are particularly interested in how the circular economy can be made suitable for everyday use without overwhelming people. 

The Spring Academy is aimed at all students interested in sustainable development and offers the opportunity to establish links between science, technology, and society, as well as to gain new perspectives on their own field of study.

Active participation in all elements, including workshops and group discussions, and the submission of a short final report or project can be credited with 2–4 ECTS.

Please note: The Spring Academy Sustainability will take place in person at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and other venues in Karlsruhe, Germany.
The opening keynote and closing panel will be held in German, while workshops and excursions are available in English. Final reports and projects may also be submitted in English.

More information and registration

In order to complete the Spring Academy Sustainability and receive credit points, you must register for three different workshops and two different excursions. The ICM is conduting a foundation workshop. You can find the entire program here.

Foundation Workshops: Tuesday, 24 March 2026, 8:45 am - 12:45 pm

08:45-10:30 Uhr: Workshop 2: Circular Economy Part I

The KIT Spring Sustainability Academy is aimed at students and guest lecturers who are interested in sustainable development. During the public parts, the interested public is also welcome without registration. Opened by a public keynote speech and a forum on sustainability, more than 30 workshops and 20 excursions as well as a public panel discussion will take place over four days, dealing with the current topic of the Spring Academy on Sustainability. The Spring Sustainability Academy is an event of the ZAK at KIT.