The threat of climate change is global and requires solutions that span international boundaries. So, in this challenge, you will share and develop ideas cross-culturally with an international network of students, campus stakeholders, experts in academia and entrepreneurship and some of the most innovative companies in the world. Together, you will bring your passion for sustainability from an initial idea to something implementable.
How we develop our living and learning communities impacts how our campuses contribute to global climate change. Do you have an idea for how buildings could preserve energy? What about how we could utilize spaces on campus to offset carbon outputs? How would you design a better built environment on campus?
Our planet’s greatest near-term opportunity for climate action is to waste less energy. Around 50% of global final energy consumption is used for heating, which contributes 40% of global CO2 emissions. This Challenge focuses on using district energy solutions to redistribute energy from existing thermal sources, minimize thermal losses in transmission and shift demand with thermal energy storage.
Where our food comes from and what we consume has an impact on the environment. So does what we do with the food we don't eat, as well as how it's packaged, shipped, and stored. We invite you to propose ideas on more sustainable sources for food, as well as how to design a consumption system that reduces, reuses or recycles our food waste.
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MIT President L. Rafael Reif
In the Green Campus Challenge, you will develop ideas that can impact not only your local community, but also sustainability efforts around the world. It is also an opportunity to develop cross-cultural skills, and learn new perspectives and knowledge to bring to the fight against climate change.
Pitch your idea to a jury made of international decision makers for the chance to win a variety of prizes
Develop your sustainability idea and learn new skills in ideation, design and pitching workshops
Gain new insights about sustainability topics and learn from both peers and global leaders in sustainability
Meet with leading companies working with sustainability as well as peer students from top international universities
See how a different country and culture views climate change, and test your ability to work in an international team
While the event is virtual, there will be community building activities and all sorts of fun events to get you out of your comfort zone
EcoTree is a simple and ground-breaking new way to reward individuals and businesses that support sustainable forestry 🌳. We grow vibrant forests in Europe, which preserve the diversity of plant and animal life and contribute to the planet’s vital capture of CO2.
Read more→Too Good To Go was founded in 2016 as a B2C app, connecting customers to food businesses that have unsold surplus food at the end of the day, as a way to tackle the world’s food waste problem. Too Good To Go is a social impact company. This means the aim of the business is to create significant, positive change in the global issue of food waste. It is now the world’s largest B2C marketplace for surplus food.
Read more→SPACE10 is a research and design lab on a mission to enable a better everyday life for both people and the planet. We research and design innovative solutions to some of the major societal changes expected to affect people and our planet in the years to come, working across a variety of different fields and topics—from solar energy, ethics in digital design, and open-sourced architecture.
Read more→
World’s Best News is an independent news organisation for constructive journalism and campaigns. We report on progress and sustainable solutions to challenges in global development. Our work is based on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, which address some of the world’s biggest challenges. We believe that nuanced knowledge creates hope – and hope creates motivation for action
Read more→
If you have read this far, we know you are serious about sustainability and doing something to make a difference in the world.
You have an idea, mentors will help you develop it into a solution. Innovative minds from these top companies will be available to provide guidance during the Challenge.
Driven by the potential of an electrified society, and powered by the opportunities of going digital, Danfoss is engineering technology that helps the world to get much more out of less.
Danfoss’ energy-efficient technologies, such as thermostats, high-pressure pumps, digital and electric solutions and motors reduce emissions on a global scale. At the same time, our climate-friendly technologies enable the sustainable transition at lowest possible cost with relatively short pay-back times.
As architects in Rambøll, we design cities and buildings with passion. Carried by enthusiasm we draw on professionalism and expertise of our many colleagues. Together we push the boundaries to create space for people and innovative projects of high quality. We do this with local roots - and a global perspective. Together with our customers and colleagues we create strong architecture - in design and function . Rambøll’s research and development within megatrends such as digitalisation, sustainability and quality of life qualifies our projects and ensures the customer's values and investment. As part of the foundation-owned Rambøll, we work with the common good in mind - and base our work on 75 years of experience with the best solutions.
The MIT Office of Sustainability (MITOS) was established in 2013 under the Executive Vice President and Treasurer's Office to integrate sustainability across all levels of our campus by engaging the collective brainpower of our students, staff, faculty, alumni, and partners.
MITOS has set out to ensure that sustainability is a critical part of MIT’s standard operating procedures and is fully integrated into the working, research, teaching, social and cultural spheres of our campus.
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Here we use the term green to include all aspects of sustainability, with a focus on our present activities and environment (both natural and built), but also the future impact of the changes we make and practices we implement. The UN Sustainable Development Goals provide a resource and reminder that sustainability is also an issue of equity.
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In this event, using only your computer and a good Internet connection, you’ll be able to network with top sustainability companies and peer students around the world. You can form teams and brainstorm on video calls, send ideas to each other through Whatsapp or Messenger, and drawout your ideas on Mural. All of this is assisted by the Challenge platform, where you can create a profile, share your ideas, and review various resources. Everything you need is right in front of you, and you can do it all wearing your pajamas.
A team needs to consist of 3 to 5 students. As climate change is an international issue, we are looking for your teams to be international as well! At least one student in each team must be from the MIT and Danish-university side. It is not a requirement that teams have students from multiple Danish universities, but we encourage it! The best teams are one you assemble based on your skills and interests, and there will be many opportunities during the challenge to form a team.But don’t worry--if you are not able to find a team, we will assist you.
We ask you to provide us with a title, some keywords and an abstract of your idea. We will also ask you to describe the idea and the history behind what inspired you to come up with the idea.
Of course! Teams need people with different skills to be successful, maybe you have just the right competences to make a team with an idea complete. Or, you can create a team and come up with an idea together! All you need to bring is an open mind.
No! We welcome students of all courses of study.
We are looking for your solutions to the sustainability issues of your campus (and university campuses everywhere), within the tracks of energy, food & waste, and architecture & community space. You’ll hear from companies and be inspired during the event, but consider what is realistic, desirable and feasible for your campus. No fully elaborated business plans, ready prototypes or ideas that are already being commercialized.
The ownership stays with the idea authors. However, we recognize that this event is taking place in the public domain, and therefore anything youpresent will be visible to others in the event and more broadly. Winners of the Challenge will have their ideas featured on the website in the future.
In addition to the valuable learning opportunities and chance to meet peers from around the world, all students completing the Green Campus Challenge will receive a Certificate of Participation.
Students at MIT and all Danish universities are eligible to participate. All levels of students are welcome, including Bachelor, Master, MBA and PhD-level.
Here we use the term green to include all aspects of sustainability, with a focus on our present activities and environment (both natural and built), but also the future impact of the changes we make and practices we implement. The UN Sustainable Development Goals provide a resource and reminder that sustainability is also an issue of equity.
In this event, using only your computer and a good Internet connection, you’ll be able to network with top sustainability companies and peer students around the world. You can form teams and brainstorm on video calls, send ideas to each other through Whatsapp or Messenger, and draw out your ideas on Mural. You decide! When ready, share your idea on the Challenge platform, where you can create a profile, share your ideas, find team members and review various resources. Everything you need is right in front of you, and you can do it all wearing your pajamas.
A team needs to consist of 3 to 5 students. As climate change is an international issue, we are looking for your teams to be international as well! At least one student in each team must be from the MIT and Danish-university side. It is not a requirement that teams have students from multiple Danish universities, but we encourage it! The best teams are one you assemble based on your skills and interests, and there will be many opportunities during the challenge to form a team. But don’t worry--if you are not able to find a team, we will assist you.
We ask you to provide us with a title, some keywords and an abstract of your idea. We will also ask you to describe the idea and the history behind what inspired you to come up with the idea.
Of course! Teams need people with different skills to be successful, maybe you have just the right competences to make a team with an idea complete. Or, you can create a team and come up with an idea together! All you need to bring is an open mind.
No! We welcome students of all courses of study.
We are looking for your solutions to the sustainability issues of your campus (and university campuses everywhere), within the tracks of energy, food & waste, and architecture & community space. You’ll hear from companies and be inspired during the event, but consider what is realistic, desirable and feasible for your campus. No fully elaborated business plans, ready prototypes or ideas that are already being commercialized.
The ownership stays with the idea authors. However, we recognize that this event is taking place in the public domain, and therefore anything youpresent will be visible to others in the event and more broadly. Winners of the Challenge will have their ideas featured on the website in the future.
At the final we will announce grand prize winners as well as prize winners for various events throughout the Challenge. The grand prize winners will receive a financial prize and may also have the opportunity to be further introduced to the corporate partners of the challenge.
In addition to the valuable learning opportunities and chance to meet peers from around the world, all students completing the Green Campus Challenge will receive a Certificate of Participation.
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