Digitalization and sustainability are two key transformation processes of our time: The digital transformation is profoundly changing not only production, mobility, and energy systems but also our consumption patterns. In order to avoid undesirable developments, this transformation must therefore be designed in a sustainable and responsible way. At the same time, digital solutions are essential for overcoming sustainability problems such as climate change, resource scarcity, and biodiversity loss. At KIT, digitalization and sustainability have long been researched, taught, and implemented together. The two cross-cutting topics are also closely linked at the strategic level: The “Digitalization and Sustainability Interface Project” is a new lead project of the KIT 2025 Strategy with particular relevance for its fields of action 9 (digitalization) and 10 (sustainability). The interface project aims to leverage synergy effects of the two topics more effectively in order to advance KIT’s sustainable and digital development, thus shaping the future viability of the core tasks of research, higher education, transfer, and KIT internal as well as meeting its social responsibility.

Using a focused, explorative, and interactive participation process, relevant potentials of digitalization and sustainability will be identified and prioritized at KIT. Examples include the use of waste heat from data centers, green IT, green coding, and data sufficiency. To collect ideas and approaches at the interface between digitalization and sustainability, a KIT-wide elevator pitch format will be carried out as part of the project, in which all students and employees are invited to participate. Ideas that are thematically related to research, higher education, and transfer are dealt with in work package 2, while work package 3 covers proposals for KIT-internal matters. In subsequent workshops, selected submissions will be jointly discussed, further developed, and prioritized based on specific criteria. Concrete implementation and pilot projects will then be designed on the basis of these prioritization proposals. The results will be presented to the KIT committees and finally integrated into ongoing processes. In addition, a strategy paper will be drawn up to position “Digitalization and Sustainability” as a central topic and competence focus.

In this lead project of the KIT 2025 Strategy initiated by the Vice President Digitalization and Sustainability, ITAS is working together with the Digital Office and the Scientific Computing Center contributing its expertise on sustainability, sustainable digitalization, participatory processes, and moderation. The project’s approach is closely linked to the Basis Project Sustainability: Questions and topics from its participation processes that touch on the interface between digitalization and sustainability are explored in greater depth in the interface project, while findings from the interface project can in turn be incorporated into the Basis Project Sustainability.

Further information on the Digitalization and Sustainability Interface Project can be found on the project website.

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