The JKU hosted a local 2025 EC²U Think Tank session in March, bringing students, researchers, policymakers, and interest groups together to discuss pressing environmental challenges related to climate resilience within cities and communities. As part of the EC²U Alliance, the initiative fosters collaboration between different interest groups in an effort to devise concrete solutions to build a sustainable and adaptive urban environment.

A Platform to Share Ideas and Foster Innovation
Following a world café discussion format, the think-tank session provided a platform to interactively share ideas across four thematic tables, each of which explored a different dimension of climate resilience:

• Infrastructure & Urban Planning: How can cities like Linz create a more sustainable approach to mobility and green spaces?
• Education & Raising Awareness: What role does education play in fostering more sustainable practices and more critical thinking about climate issues?
• Community-based Initiatives: How can grassroots movements complement institutional efforts toward climate resilience?
• How to Get Teens & Young Adults Involved and Drive Innovation Forward: What would help motivate teens and young people to become more involved in climate activism and what are some of the challenges and hurdles?

The discussions generated lively dialogue, stressing the importance of integrative governance, accessible sustainability education, and greater sense of partnership between academia, the industrial sector, and the local authorities.

Key Takeaways and Upcoming Activities
The participants underscored several important points:

• Strengthen interdisciplinary partnerships – conduct academic research that results in real world applications.
• Promote political initiatives - make sure climate targets concretely reflect changes in urban planning policies.
• Improve climate literacy - embed education about sustainability at schools and universities.
• Encourage teens & young adults to become more involved - make sure they have a voice in the decision-making process.

These findings will be incorporated within policy recommendations submitted to the EC²U Alliance and presented at the EC²U Forum in Coimbra in May.

Opportunities to become actively involved
The EC²U continues offering students and researchers interesting opportunities to take part in European-wide discussions and initiatives. Open calls currently include the EC²U Forum in Coimbra (May 2025) – click here to apply. There are also plans to foster stronger connections between academia and the industrial sector, such as a mentoring program that brings students and professionals together. Click here to learn more.

The JKU EC²U events page also features information about Entrepreneurial Week in Turku (Finland), and the Student Week in Pavia (Italy).