Resources, Conflicts, Sustainability: Students in Dialogue
As part of the international student conference “The Resource Nexus: From Ancient Empires to Future Earth – Resources, Conflict, and Global Security”, students and lecturers from several countries engaged with one of the most pressing questions of our time: how are the demand for resources, global power relations and sustainable development interconnected? The event took place in Basel in March and in Poznań in May and was jointly organised by Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, and the University of Basel within the associated partnership between Eucor – The European Campus and the European University Alliance EPICUR.
The programme brought together 26 students from 10 countries and 4 universities, accompanied by 10 lecturers from political science, sociology, sustainability science and economics. The focus was on an interdisciplinary approach to resource issues – from historical perspectives on colonialism and power constellations to current geopolitical tensions and the question of how a resource-efficient and equitable future can be shaped.
Historical and Geopolitical Perspectives
The Basel part of the programme focused, among other things, on Greenland's role as a potential future source of raw materials, energy relations in the Polish-Czech-German border region, and the governance of global value chains. The academic contributions were complemented by workshops in which the students further developed and discussed their prepared group projects.
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© Universität Basel -
© Universität Basel -
© Universität Basel -
© Universität Basel
Hands-on Learning, Shared Discussion
Particularly striking were the excursions and practical elements: visits to recycling and power plants, insights into circular-economy processes and exchanges with practitioners made it clear how closely global resource issues are linked to concrete transformation processes on the ground. In Poznań, lectures and group work deepened the themes with a view to the political economy of the energy transition, global supply chains and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the context of resources.
Skills for the Future
Another focus was science communication: in a podcast workshop, the participants explored how complex content can be conveyed clearly and in a way tailored to specific audiences. Outside the teaching sessions as well, shared evening events, city explorations and conversations promoted intercultural exchange and learning across national and disciplinary boundaries.
The conference thus exemplified what international teaching in the European Higher Education Area can look like: networked, practice-oriented, interdisciplinary and directly relevant to current social challenges. For students, it opened up new perspectives on global interconnections; for lecturers, an inspiring example of the development of innovative teaching formats.
The international student conference “The Resource Nexus: From Ancient Empires to Future Earth – Resources, Conflict, and Global Security” took place within the associated partnership between Eucor – The European Campus and the European University Alliance EPICUR. It received financial support through the EPICUR project at the University of Basel. This support was made possible thanks to funding from Movetia, the Swiss agency for mobility and exchange. Movetia is funded by the Swiss Confederation. The event was also part of the anniversary celebrations of the EGTC Eucor – The European Campus.
by Marc Frick