Spring Academy Sustainability 2026
What is sustainable circular economy?
Project week on sustainability in science, studies, work and everyday life
March 23–26, 2026
The Spring Academy Sustainability at KIT 2026 will focus on the concept of circular economy.
The project week was organized by General Studies. Forum Science and Society (FORUM) in cooperation with the interdisciplinary Collaborative Research Center 1574 "Circular Factory for the Perpetual Product" at KIT. In addition, the Spring Academy 2026 was an anniversary event celebrating 10 years of EGTC Eucor.
Through a public keynote, a thematic exhibition, a wide range of workshops and excursions, and a final panel discussion, participants explored the various dimensions of circular economy and sustainability. The program offered opportunities to engage critically with key debates and to actively examine the challenges and potentials of circular practices.
The circular economy promises to conserve resources: things should last longer, produce less waste, and require fewer new raw materials. For this to work, products must be designed so that they are easy to repair, parts are interchangeable, and they can be used for a long time. In addition, new ways of sharing things are needed—for example, through sharing services or subscriptions. We also need more places where people can return, repair, or refurbish items.
In reality, however, this is not so easy. Often there is a lack of incentives, the processes are complicated, or we are simply used to different routines. Sometimes the opposite of what is desired happens: when car sharing is very convenient, some people suddenly drive more than before.
At the Spring Academy 2026, looked at how new technology, economic ideas, political rules, and our everyday lives are connected when it comes to the circular economy—and where the problems lie. Together, we wanted to find out which current approaches are promising, where they fail, and where conflicts of interest arise. We were particularly interested in how the circular economy can be made suitable for everyday use without overwhelming people.
The Spring Academy is aimed at all students interested in sustainable development and offers the opportunity to establish links between science, technology, and society, as well as to gain new perspectives on their own field of study.
To make the relevant framework conditions and factors of a sustainable circular economy tangible, the Spring Academy examines the topic from three key perspectives. These perspectives help us to systematically explore the complex interrelationships and facilitate interdisciplinary discussions on:
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Technology Technological development plays a central role in the implementation of circular economy concepts, from recycling processes and modular product design to repairability and digital systems for tracking product-specific data. But how can new technologies help to keep products and resources in circulation for longer? Which technical solutions facilitate reuse, repair and recycling in practice? Where are the limits of technological solutions? What negative effects can technological progress have on a circular economy? |
Economy The circular economy requires us to rethink existing economic and business models. Rather than focusing purely on sales, services such as sharing and subscription models are becoming more important. How are value chains changing as take-back, repair and reconditioning structures become more important? How can economic success be measured differently when key performance indicators are no longer based on unit sales, but on service life, utilisation and reparability? |
Politics & Society The implementation of a circular economy is also a political and social challenge. Necessary solutions often fail due to a lack of incentives, inadequate legal frameworks and existing infrastructures, or entrenched habits. What role do political decision-makers and civil society initiatives play in overcoming these hurdles? What barriers arise from rebound effects, where efficiency gains lead to even higher consumption? How do global inequalities and power relations affect the feasibility of the circular economy, and who bears responsibility when seemingly circular processes—such as electronics recycling—are shifted to countries in the Global South at the expense of social and environmental standards? |
Public Keynote Speech
Monday, 23rd March 2026, 6 p.m.
InformatiKOM, Geb. 50.19, KIT Campus Süd, Adenauerring 12
Event on YouTube | Event on KIT media portal
Programme
Greeting
Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth
Vice President Transfer and International Affairs at KIT and Deputy of Eucor
Welcome
Prof. Dr. Senja Post
Professor of Science Communication, Scientific Director of the FORUM at KIT
Keynote Speech (in German)
Gebraucht und doch wie neu – das ewig innovative Produkt in der Kreislaufwirtschaft
Prof. Dr. Sven Matthiesen
Co-Speaker of the Collaborative Research Center 1574 "Circular Factory for the Perpetual Innovative Product" and Head of Institute at IPEK - Institute of Product Engineering, KIT
Um den Ressourcenverbrauch vom Wohlstand zu entkoppeln, sind neue, innovative Wirtschaftssysteme erforderlich. Der traditionelle lineare Ansatz „take-make-use-dispose“ ist langfristig nicht zukunftsfähig, und auch politische Rahmenbedingungen machen nachhaltige und zirkuläre Produktionsmuster zunehmend unumgänglich. Im Sonderforschungsbereich 1574 „Kreislauffabrik für das ewig innovative Produkt“ verfolgen wir das Ziel einer integrierten Produktion, die lineare und zirkuläre Prozesse im industriellen Maßstab vereint. Dabei sollen Gebrauchtprodukte systematisch in aktuelle Produktgenerationen überführt werden, ein zentraler Schritt auf dem Weg zur Vision des „ewig innovativen Produkts“.
Zur Umsetzung dieser Transformation sind weitreichende interdisziplinäre Fragestellungen zu lösen, die sich unter anderem auf die Bereiche Produktionstechnik, Produktentwicklung, Werkstofftechnik, Arbeitswissenschaft, Robotik, Informatik und Wissensmodellierung erstrecken. Der Vortrag gibt Einblicke in diese Herausforderungen und zeigt Wege auf, wie die Produktion der Zukunft nachhaltig und wettbewerbsfähig gestaltet werden kann.
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Prof. Dr. Sven Matthiesen
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Sustainability Forum
Getting into conversation about circular economy - that is what the Sustainability Forum is all about. The exchange format with exhibitions on the topic took place following the opening keynote of the Spring Academy Sustainability and was accompanied with a standing reception.
Various research projects, organisations and initiatives from Karlsruhe and the surrounding area presented their work: Students and interested parties were able to exchange ideas with people from the field, make contacts and expand networks in a relaxed fair atmosphere – there was a lot to discover!
List of exhibitors (in German)
Eucor – The European Campus (Trinationaler Verbund zwischen fünf Universitäten in der Oberrheinregion. Die Frühlingsakademie 2026 ist eine Jubiläumsveranstaltung zu 10 Jahren EVTZ Eucor.)
InnovationsCampus Mobilität der Zukunft (ICM) (Gemeinsame Forschungsplattform des KIT und der Universität Stuttgart)
AStA am KIT (Initiativen für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung)
Professur Digital Design and Fabrication (DDF) (Professur am Institut Entwerfen und Bautechnik (IEB) des KIT)
SFB "Kreislauffabrik für das ewig innovative Produkt“ (Sonderforschungsbereich 1574 des KIT; Kooperationspartner der Frühlingsakademie 2026)
FORUM (Studium Generale. Forum Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft (FORUM) des KIT. Ausrichter der Frühlingsakademie Nachhaltigkeit)
Projekt „Basola“ (Enactus Karlsruhe e.V.) (Solarbetriebene Pyrolyseanlage, die Plastik in Kraftstoff umwandelt)
#CircularKarlsruhe (Kreislaufstadt Karlsruhe 2040, Wirtschaftsförderung Stadt Karlsruhe)
Workshops
On the first day all participants attended a foundation workshop to prepare them for an in-depth examination of the complex issues within the priority area. The foundation workshops focused on different scientific perspectives in the debates surrounding sustainable development. The key questions were:
- How can reliable scientific knowledge be generated?
- How do social expectations and demands influence scientific research?
- How is scientific knowledge adopted, discussed and utilised by society?
List of foundation workshops held in German or English
- Emotionen und Expertise: Öffentliche Debatten und Meinungsbildung verstehen, Lisa Gaffney, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
- Sustainable Digital Platform Business Model Innovation: From Idea to Market-Ready, Patrick Brecht, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
- Engineers – saviours or culprits? Prof. Dr. Kai Furmans, Prof. Dr. Payam Dehdari, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Stuttgart Technical University of Applied Sciences
- Rationalität durch Deliberation? Wie bilden und verändern sich politische Meinungen? Dr. Franziska Maier, Universität Stuttgart
- Klima-Desinformationen entlarven und kontern, Dr. Clara Christner, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
- Lost in Complexity? Darüber, dass die Welt vielschichtiger wird und Menschen sich damit schwertun – und wie eine Handhabe dessen aussehen kann, Dr. Anna Roßmann, Universität Stuttgart
A total of three different English-language focus workshops were offered over the following two days (12 focus workshops in total, German or English), in which participants had the opportunity to explore selected specialist areas relating to the key theme of circular economy in greater depth. Each workshop covered one or more of the three key areas: technology, economy, and politics & society.
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Technology Technological development plays a central role in the implementation of circular economy concepts, from recycling processes and modular product design to repairability and digital systems for tracking product-specific data. But how can new technologies help to keep products and resources in circulation for longer? Which technical solutions facilitate reuse, repair and recycling in practice? Where are the limits of technological solutions? What negative effects can technological progress have on a circular economy? |
Economy The circular economy requires us to rethink existing economic and business models. Rather than focusing purely on sales, services such as sharing and subscription models are becoming more important. How are value chains changing as take-back, repair and reconditioning structures become more important? How can economic success be measured differently when key performance indicators are no longer based on unit sales, but on service life, utilisation and reparability? |
Politics & Society The implementation of a circular economy is also a political and social challenge. Necessary solutions often fail due to a lack of incentives, inadequate legal frameworks and existing infrastructures, or entrenched habits. What role do political decision-makers and civil society initiatives play in overcoming these hurdles? What barriers arise from rebound effects, where efficiency gains lead to even higher consumption? How do global inequalities and power relations affect the feasibility of the circular economy, and who bears responsibility when seemingly circular processes—such as electronics recycling—are shifted to countries in the Global South at the expense of social and environmental standards? |
List of focus workshops held in German or English
- Robotische (De-)Montage, Jan Baumgärtner, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
- Circular Economy Rebound Effects: How resource efficiency can fuel consumption, Dr. Stefanie Klose, University of Freiburg
- Der ewige Kreislauf des Goldes - Fluch oder Segen?, Benjamin Fritz, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
- Governance der Kreislaufwirtschaft: Politische Hebel für Ressourceneffizienz und Nachhaltigkeit, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Simon Glöser-Chahoud, Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg
- Von der Idee zum Geschäftsmodell in 4 Stunden, Anja Nieveler & Max Schwendemann, Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz & Circular Black Forest
- Kreislaufwirtschaft und die konstruktiven Details. Ein Praxisworkshop zum ewig innovativen Produkt am Beispiel Winkelschleifer, Dr. Patric Grauberger, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
- Zirkulär denken, handeln, leben: Im Selbstexperiment zur Kreislaufgesellschaft, Wanda Wieczorek & Anna König, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
- Circular Economy: From Ideas to Action, Carolina Rovira Schmitt & Heron Mochny, University of Basel & Impact Hub Zürich
- Justice Aspects of a Circular Economy, Burcu Gözet, Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt Energie gGmbH
- Zirkuläre Geschäftsmodelle, Tobias Lachnit, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
- Kreislaufwirtschaft für Antriebstechnologien der Zukunft – Wie gut sind elektrischen Maschinen, Batterien und Brennstoffzellen gewappnet?, Marcel Nöller & Till Falco Böse, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
- Alles oder nichts – Wie Nutzer*innen über die Umsetzung von Kreislaufwirtschaft entscheiden, Theresa Marie Wobbe, TH Köln
Excursions
During the event, participants took part in two of four English-language excursion on circular economy (or of eight further excursion in German). Each excursion covered one or more of the three key areas: technology, economy, and politics & society. Visits to research and industrial facilities, and discussions with stakeholders from the worlds of research, business, and civil society, provided direct insights into the practical and applied areas aspects of the circular economy. This allowed participants to expand opon the theoretical discussions in the workshops and contribute their experiences to subsequent ones.
List of excursions held in German or English:
- Früher Mülldeponie heute Stromversorger: Der Energieberg Karlsruhe, Florian Schultz, Team Sauberes Karlsruhe
- Sustainability at its core: How metal scrap becomes input material for steel mills, Dr. Michaela Lindemann, CRONIMET
- Klima- und ressourcengerechtes Bauen mit kreislaufbasierten Materialkonzepten und digitalen Fertigungsmethoden, Elena Boerman, Sandra Böhm und Daniel Fischer, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
- Chemical Recycling of Plastics: Remarkable Potential for Sustainable Circular Plastics and Defossilization, Dr. Salar Tavakkol and Basola, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
- KI, Digitalisierung und Nachhaltigkeit, wie passt das zusammen?, Aydin Mir Mohammadi, bluehands GmbH
- Gescheiterte Technologie!? Die stillgelegte Thermoselect-Anlage, Rheinhafen Karlsruhe, Martin Appel, Thermoselect Südwest GmBH
- Kreislaufwirtschaft in der Praxis: IT-Refurbishment mit sozialer Wirkung, Kai Keune, Andreas Reifsteck, AfB gemeinnützige GmbH
- Circular Factory for the Perpetual Innovative Product, Jan Baumgärtner, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
- Reparieren statt Wegwerfen – Einblicke ins ReparaturCafé Karlsruhe e. V., Sigi Mutschler-Firl, ReparaturCafé Karlsruhe e.V.
- Besichtigung des Alten Schlachthofes Karlsruhe, Heike Dederer und Barbara Rettenmaier, Stadtplanungsamt Karlsruhe
- Kreislaufwirtschaft auf dem Campus: Rundgang zu studentischen Nachhaltigkeitsinitiativen, Paula Fink, AStA am KIT
- Design Details and their Interactions – Product Development in the Age of the Circular Economy, Patric Grauberger, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Panel discussion
Circular Economy: Wishful Thinking or the Future of Value Creation?
InformatiKOM, KIT Campus Süd, Geb. 50.19, Adenauerring 12
Event on YouTube | Event on KIT media portal
The panel discussion was held in German
Digitale Produktpässe, neue Geschäftsmodelle und modulare Designs gelten als zentrale Bausteine einer funktionierenden Kreislaufwirtschaft. Dennoch zeigt sich in aktuellen Debatten, dass rund 90 % der Aufmerksamkeit weiterhin auf das Recycling fokussiert ist – ein Ansatz, der zwar Verluste reduziert, aber kaum echte Wertschöpfung schafft. Warum gelingt es bislang nicht, Produkte so zu gestalten und zu nutzen, dass Reparierbarkeit, längere Lebenszyklen und datenbasierte Services zum Standard werden? Wie kann regionale Zirkularität gestärkt werden, um Importe zu verringern und lokale Wertschöpfungsketten zu fördern? Und welche Rolle spielen politische Rahmenbedingungen, wenn zugleich Branchen wie die Automobilindustrie oder Smartphone‑Hersteller aus Gründen der Performance zunehmend auf Modularität verzichten?
Welche strukturellen Hemmnisse eine nachhaltige Transformation hin zu kreislauffähigen Produkten bremsen und welche Impulse digitale Technologien für neue Wertschöpfungsmodelle bieten, diskutieren Expertinnen und Experten bei der öffentlichen Podiumsdiskussion.
Moderation
Martin Besinger, SWR
Panelists
- Dr. Michael Dieterle, Development Engineer for Circularity & Product Sustainability, SEW-Eurodrive GmbH & Co KG
- Philipp Krohn, Business editor, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
- Prof. Dr. Sven Matthiesen, Co-Speaker of the Collaborative Research Center 1574 "Circular Factory for the Perpetual Innovative Product" and Head of Institute at IPEK - Institute of Product Engineering, KIT
- Anna Reiners, Co-founder and managing director of Circular Black Forest gGmbH