Student project improves energy awareness at the University of Twente

The Energy Transition Challenges (ETC) minor at the University of Twente plays a crucial role in the effort to equip students with the knowledge and skills to tackle energy-related challenges and develop innovative solutions to work towards a more sustainable future and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement by 2030. One of these students, Imre Kersting, recently participated in the ETC minor and gained valuable insights that contribute to increasing energy awareness within the university. His project explores ways to enhance energy efficiency and sustainability on campus, supporting the UT's broader environmental goals.

Imre’s project, which spanned ten weeks, demonstrated the importance of collaboration. Through presentations, newsletters, and sparring sessions, a strong interest in sustainability became clear across different departments and stakeholders. However, a lack of communication between departments proved to be a bottleneck. This underscores the need for a central platform to share initiatives, resources, and progress updates. A central platform can lead to better knowledge exchange and more effective, sustainable solutions.

First steps

To better understand energy waste at the university, a small experiment was initially conducted in the Carré building.

"The experiment showed that the problems lay somewhere else than technicalities and awareness", says Imre. “One of the biggest challenges in energy efficiency is active participation. During my ETC minor, it became clear that although many students and staff members support sustainability, actual involvement remains low. This can be attributed to various psychological and practical barriers. Large-scale technological solutions often receive the most attention, while smaller, easily implementable measures are overlooked. This is a missed opportunity, as these smaller actions can have a collective significant impact."

Innovative approaches for greater engagement

During the project, Imre proposed several initiatives to enhance energy awareness and participation. "One of the most promising strategies was the introduction of faculty competitions: a real-time energy savings display, with rewards linked to achieved results. Gamification can be a powerful tool to increase engagement and stimulate sustainable behavioral changes."

Additionally, strategic communication proved crucial. For example, an article about energy conservation on the university's website was difficult for users to find, limiting its effectiveness. This highlights the need for accessible information.

Conclusion of the project

To effectively promote energy awareness and participation, a multifaceted approach combining technological innovation with behavioural change is needed. “In addition to smart energy systems and large-scale projects, it is important to encourage daily, small-scale initiatives. This can be achieved through mandatory annual sustainability conferences, workshops, and energy-saving competitions”, Imre explains.

“By working together, the University of Twente can set an example for others and drive real impact. Through collaboration and shared responsibility, we can take meaningful steps toward a more energy-efficient and sustainable future!”

Download Imre's report below:

SUSTAINABILITY AT UT

Sustainability is an important priority area of Shaping2030, the University of Twente’s strategic plan. In addition to finding sustainable solutions for societal issues, the UT wants to set a good example of what it means to be a sustainable organisation. To reach this goal, the ambitions of Shaping2030 need to be put into practice. Many members of the UT community are hard at work translating the sustainability objectives into our work on campus – transforming the way we work, teach, learn, travel, build and more. In this series, we invite them to talk about what motivates them, what the role of sustainability is in their day-to-day work, and what they would like to achieve at our university.

Want to find out more about sustainability at UT? Please go to utwente.nl/sustainability.