Together for climate education
TRACE brings together a diverse and highly skilled team of educational researchers from the University of Innsbruck, the University of Bologna, and the Center of Excellence for Climate Change Impacts. Despite their different institutional backgrounds, the team shares a common goal: fostering climate agency among students through innovative educational approaches.
University of Innsbruck
The University of Innsbruck, established in 1669, is a renowned research university and the largest institution of higher education and research in western Austria. Over the past decades, it has consistently ranked among the top three universities in Austria. The University of Innsbruck has a strong research focus on mountain regions, with particular emphasis on climate, the cryosphere, atmospheric sciences, global change, and regional sustainability.
Within this framework, the Department of Subject-Specific Education has developed a long-standing tradition of research in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), with significant contributions from the Physics Education Research Group in recent years. Building on this expertise, a student lab dedicated to sustainability education was founded in 2023. The lab’s first workshop, which focused on energy transition, its scientific foundations, and political implications, successfully engaged over 40 school classes from the region. From University of Innsbruck, Sarah Wildbichler, Thomas Schubatzky, and Matthias Fasching are involved in the TRACE project.
University of Bologna
The University of Bologna (UNIBO), founded in 1088, is the oldest university in the Western world and one of Italy’s largest and most internationally oriented institutions. UNIBO consistently ranks among the top Italian universities and is strongly committed to a multidisciplinary and cross-cultural approach that integrates research and teaching.
Within UNIBO, the research group in Physics education at the Department of Physics and Astronomy “A. Righi” (DIFA) conducts research across all school levels, with a focus on interdisciplinary and multidimensional approaches to STEM education. Its work addresses themes such as climate change, complex systems, future thinking, narratives for agency and decision-making in climate change education, etc. The group is also strongly engaged in teacher education for both pre-service and in-service teachers.
The group has extensive experience in European projects on science education, sustainability, and teacher training, having coordinated major initiatives such as the recent ENCOMPASS project (Engaging and Orienting the Young in the Complexity of Climate Change and Sustainability to Foster Agency and Deliberation in Societally Relevant Choices).
From UNIBO, Giulia Tasquier contributes to the TRACE project.
Center of Excellence for Climate Change Impacts
The Center of Excellence for Climate Change Impacts (CECCI), established in 2010, was one of the first institutions of its kind in Germany. It serves as a primary contact for the scientific assessment of climate change and its impacts in Rhineland-Palatinate. Positioned at the intersection of science, government, and practice, CECCI supports stakeholders in climate adaptation through effective knowledge transfer and applied research.
CECCI collaborates closely with universities, research institutions, and policymakers to advance evidence-based climate education and innovative pedagogical approaches. It has contributed to numerous research projects focusing on climate resilience and education. One of its notable initiatives is a mobile learning environment for secondary school students on climate change, climate impacts, and mitigation/adaptation measures. This initiative has been successfully transferred to three other institutions and is currently being expanded to include action-oriented learning materials. Within the TRACE project, CECCI contributes its expertise in climate education and research as well as science-based knowledge transfer.
From CECCI, Johanna Kranz is involved in the TRACE project.
