About the UNESCO Chair
The UNESCO Chair in Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD) has been based at Leuphana University Lüneburg since 2005.
The purpose of the Leuphana UNESCO Chair in Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD) is to support educational institutions in transforming into places where sustainability can be lived and learned. The Chair is home to a community of scholars from diverse backgrounds who experiment with the transformative potential of education to enhance our collective capacity to envision and work towards safe and just futures.
We do this by producing knowledge through rigorous and socially relevant research, designing responsive learning spaces and building trustful international and regional collaborations. Current areas of work are teacher education and leadership, inter- and transdisciplinary learning, as well as student participation and learner empowerment.
History of the Chair
A first of its kind
The UNESCO Chair in Higher Education for Sustainable Development comes to Lüneburg, at the time the only UNESCO Chair worldwide dedicated to this field. Its appointment recognised the university's innovative work on integrating education for sustainable development into university teaching, an approach that also shaped the Leuphana Semester and its module “Wissenschaft trägt Verantwortung” (Science bears responsibility).
Building a sustainable university
Gerd Michelsen, who brought the Chair to Lüneburg, holds it for sixteen years. In this period he also builds up the Faculty of Sustainability, and Leuphana develops into a university where sustainability shapes research, teaching and campus life.
From Chair to network
Daniel Lang, Professor of Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research, takes over the Chair. In November, the UNITWIN Network on Education for Sustainable Development and Social Transformation (UNiESD&ST) is launched with partners in Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, Greece and South Africa, coordinated from Leuphana.
A new chairholder
Daniel Fischer, Professor of Education for Sustainable Development, becomes chairholder.
A new home at SETRI
The Chair moves to the newly founded Sustainability Education and Transdisciplinary Research Institute (SETRI) and puts a stronger focus on student involvement.
Twenty years, two chairholders
In the Chair's twentieth year, Harald Hantke is appointed Co-Chairholder.
Network extended
The UNITWIN partnership is extended until 2029.
The Chair at Leuphana
At Leuphana, the Chair is responsible for the Transformation Module, a required module in the first semester (10 CP, 300 hours of workload). It also coordinates the UNITWIN Network on Education for Sustainable Development and Social Transformation (UNiESD&ST). In the UNESCO Chair Lecture Series, we invite perspectives on (higher) education for sustainable development and UNESCO-related topics, and we regularly host visiting fellows. Our current research projects are listed on the projects page.
What is a UNESCO Chair?
UNESCO was founded in 1946 to build peace and security through international cooperation in education, the arts, the sciences and culture. It is one of 14 specialised agencies of the United Nations and has 194 member states.
UNESCO Chairs are university teams led by specialists in their field and approved by UNESCO for the quality and relevance of their work. They combine research, teaching and engagement to address societal challenges and together form a global network.