ESD – I already do it!?

"ESD – I already do it!? A survey conducted in the 2026/27 winter semester at universities of applied sciences in North Rhine-Westphalia on the understanding of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and its implementation in educational practice” is a joint project between Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg and the University of Bonn aimed at strengthening Education for Sustainable development (ESD) in higher education in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The project combines a state-wide survey at the 20 universities of applied sciences in North Rhine-Westphalia with a communication campaign based on its findings. As the two project components overlap in time, initial preliminary findings from the survey can already be incorporated into the communication activities. The aim is to gain a better understanding of how ESD is understood and implemented in teaching at universities of applied sciences, what challenges and support needs exist, and how the visibility and acceptance of ESD in higher education can be increased.

For the first time, this survey expands the state-wide ESD survey of universities in North Rhine-Westphalia, conducted in 2024, to include the perspective of universities of applied sciences. This creates a cross-university data set that highlights the differences, commonalities and potential for development in the implementation of ESD in higher education.

The results provide impetus for the further development of support services as well as for strategic processes aimed at embedding ESD in universities of applied sciences in North Rhine-Westphalia.