SOAK (SOmmer AKademie) is an initiative of the COOP Sustainable Universities — a cooperative of Austrian Universities of Applied Sciences that collaborate with other Austrian und international universities toward sustainable futures. The COOP runs this summer academy every year in different regions.

From 2023 to 2025 the focus is placed on climate change, the greatest challenge for humanity and life threatening to all species. All of living beings, including people and communities, must develop and implement ways to respond to the changing conditions that are present already, forthcoming in the foreseeable future and out of their control.

In these three years, the SOAK Biomimicry trilogy is explored through the Biomimicry Innovation Process in order to propose potential solutions to human problems connected to climate change. Biomimicry is a philosophy and praxis for sustainable innovation inspired by Nature. SOAK participants learn about the strategies Nature has developed to survive and thrive on this planet and apply them to human systems.

On 24 December 1968, during the Apollo 8 Mission, astronaut Bill Anders photo- graphed the earth rising on the moon’s horizon. Earthrise featured the first color photo of Earth taken from outer space. This picture of the Blue Marble became one of the most important images in history and is credited with triggering global environmental awareness and the beginning of the environmental movement.

Earthrise marks the moment when people began to realize that planet Earth is a precious and breathtakingly beautiful spot in the universe, in fact, their only home, in the midst of the vast emptiness surrounding it, worth treasuring and cherishing.

Out of this admiration grew a sense of responsibility to protect Nature and all living beings on Earth. People began to recognize how inextricably linked they are to everything and everybody. From that perspective it was not a far stretch to come to understand that the survival of the human race depends on the web of life as we know it.

For SOAK Biomimicry 2023 Nature herself has become the teacher and a living learning lab that captures people’s minds and hearts.

Unsere Welt braucht einen grundlegenden Wandel. Es ist an der Zeit, dass die Welt sowie die einzelnen Sektoren für ihre Rolle in unserer Umweltkrise Verantwortung übernehmen und gleichzeitig mutige, kreative und innovative Lösungen fördern und realisieren. Dies erfordert Maßnahmen auf allen Ebenen, von Hochschulen, Unternehmen und Gemeinschaften bis hin zu Städten und nationalen Regierungen.

Abgeleitet vom internationalen Earth Day veranstaltet das Bündnis Nachhaltige Hochschulen einen jährlich stattfindenden gemeinsamen „Sustainability Day“.

Die jährliche Jahrestagung ist eine ideale Gelegenheit, um sich mit interessierten Teilnehmer*innen rund um das Thema Nachhaltigkeit an Hochschulen zu vernetzen.