"Impact for Future: Sustainability and Social Impact" - this is the name of a new module in the Studium Generale under the direction of Prof. Dr. Markus Schmitt, which was developed in conjunction with the "Impact for Future" project. The module is designed to help students from all faculties take the first steps in their own initiatives. The fact that such initiatives can succeed was impressively demonstrated by Dominik Metzger, a graduate of Landshut University of Applied Sciences, in a guest lecture.
Dominik Metzger reported on his startup company "ShredUp" in the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq. ShredUp is building a municipal waste collection system in the city of Halabja. The recyclable materials are sorted and further recycled. Plastic parts are shredded and some are processed directly into new consumer goods. Products include benches, side tables and decorative fruit bowls. Dominik Metzger acquired the technical know-how for this in the "Energy Management and Technology" course at Landshut University of Applied Sciences and in the master's course in energy and environmental technology at Innsbruck University of Applied Sciences. His project is also an educational initiative. To this end, ShredUp works with schools, the city administration and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to impart environmental knowledge. The company founder's remarks on the leadership tasks he had to master as a local outsider were particularly interesting. The topics covered ranged from empowerment, change of perspective, creativity and initiative, language barriers and climatic living conditions to the effects of climate change.
The discussion that followed with the students included how to finance his business. The first funds came from a self-organized crowdfunding. This was then joined by funding, including from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The "Impact for Future" module is run in cooperation with the project of the same name - an interdisciplinary and cross-university project in which students and teachers from all disciplines come together to achieve social impact in terms of sustainable development. For the students, the encounter with Dominik Metzger was an impressive encouragement to become active themselves. Picture: University of Applied Sciences Landshut (Free for use with reference to source)
