Sustainability Awards and Sustainability Lecture 2025

Global climate dynamics, biodiversity protection, and socio-economic responsibility: topics of sustainable development are at the forefront of numerous theses across all disciplines at the University of Tübingen. To emphasize the growing importance of this subject in promoting young researchers, the University of Tübingen annually awards the best theses dedicated to sustainable development. The Sustainability Lecture 2025 will be delivered by biodiversity researcher Professor Dr. Katrin Böhning-Gaese from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ and the University of Leipzig. In her lecture titled "Nature and Humans in the Anthropocene - Perspectives on Sustainable Development," she highlights how science not only draws attention to the dramatic loss of biodiversity but also presents concrete ways to protect and restore it. Katrin Böhning-Gaese demonstrates that there is justified hope for a good Anthropocene – an era in which humans and nature can coexist harmoniously. The sustainability awards at the University of Tübingen have been presented since 2011 and aim to encourage students to engage scientifically with topics of sustainable development. The award ceremony is organized by the Competence Center for Sustainable Development and the Advisory Board for Sustainable Development. The jury that selects the award winners consists of members of the advisory board as well as student representatives.