Green Skills Challenge: Four Schools, Eight Organizations, Two Project Weeks

The Green Skills Challenge (German subtitle: Regionen im Wandel), which concluded on September 30, was led by the RCE Vienna team in cooperation with Thinkubator, Climate and Energy Model Region Baden, and Modellregion Thermenlinie, with funding from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management.

As part of this Third Mission project, 80 secondary-school students from Baden, Bad Vöslau, and Mödling developed concrete solutions for eight organizations in their region.

Based on the industries and sectors represented by these organizations, different student teams worked on practical solutions, including a “Youth Mode” add-on for ERSTE Bank’s George banking app, a communication strategy for EVN’s geothermal energy project, an electrification concept for the fleet of the regional water supply association (Wasserleitungsverband der Triestingtal- und Südbahngemeinden), a circular economy concept for the steel division of ZAUNERGROUP, and many more.

At the Touchdown Event in Baden, the students presented their ideas on stage to an audience of more than 90 people.

• Project Vision & Mission: Empowerment instead of helplessness. Sustainability issues can often trigger eco-anxiety among young people. The Green Skills Challenge countered this by creating concrete opportunities for action and empowering young people to develop solutions to real-world challenges.

• Pedagogical Approach: The project was based on the Design Thinking process: understanding the problem, conducting interviews, generating ideas, and developing prototypes.

• Project-informed Guide: To help other schools and regions benefit from these experiences, we have compiled our key learnings in a practical guidebook for educators, featuring teaching approaches, practical examples, and tips for the classroom.

Download the PracticalGuide (in German) here

We would like to thank the eight regional organizations that inspired and challenged the students through their Challenges: Sparkasse Baden, the Youth & Sports Department of the City of Baden, HSG Events GmbH, EVN, the Wasserleitungsverband, Vöslauer Mineralwasser GmbH, ZAUNERGROUP, and Radlobby.

Most importantly, our heartfelt thanks go to the students, teachers, and school leadership teams of BG & BRG Baden Biondekgasse, BG & BRG Baden Frauengasse, HTL Mödling, and BRG Bad Vöslau-Gainfarn for their tremendous commitment!