Sustainability Week
8–12 December
Welcome to Sustainability Week 2025!
Halmstad University’s first sustainability week will be held on 8–12 December. It will consist of five days of lectures, exhibitions and activities highlighting the area of sustainable development. Throughout the week, sustainability will be the focus around the campus. You are welcome to participate, be inspired and gain new knowledge!
Programme
Some of the activities during Sustainability Week are student activities, while the rest of the programme is open to all visitors. Most activities are held on campus. The exhibitions are offered throughout the week, 8–12 december. The programme may be updated before the week begins.
- 8 December
8 December at 12.30–13.00
Panel discussion: Sustainable student life
Representatives from Halmstad Student Union talk to students about what it takes to achieve balance in student life and a sustainable study period.
Location: Lab City, S building
This activity is held in Swedish.
8 December at 13.00–13.10
Opening ceremony
Sustainability Week will be inaugurated with speeches by Vice-Chancellor Susanna Öhman and Halmstad Student Union President Isabelle Widén.
Location: Lab City, S building
This activity is held in Swedish.
8 December at 13.15–14.15
Lecture: Sustainable development from a societal and individual perspective
Professor Claes Malmberg talks about sustainable development from a societal and individual perspective. The lecture lasts approximately one hour and is followed by a question and answer session.
- Location: S1002 and live streamed in S1022, S building
- This activity is held in Swedish.
8 December at 14.30–15.30
Interactive lecture: Nature’s needs
Senior Lecturer Katarina Cerna, School of Information Technology, will give an interactive lecture.
Starting from the argument that we need to re-connect with green nature to improve the way we treat the world, Katarina Cerna offers an interactive talk, which enables the audience to both learn about a special case of re-connecting with green nature as well as provide them with an interactive moment which goes beyond traditional conference talks.
Location: S1078, S building
This activity is held in English.
Exhibition: SMHI: Testimonials from the New Climate Zones in Sweden
During Sustainability Week, as well as the week before and the week after, the exhibition Testimonies from the New Climate Zones will be on display in the glass corridor. The exhibition has been produced by SMHI in collaboration with Karlstad University.
Location: Glass corridor, by the University main entrance
Exhibition: Sustainability through the lens of literature
During Sustainability Week, the University Library will be showcasing literature related to sustainable development, in Swedish and English.
Location: University Library
Exhibition: Planet in transition
Understanding Today – Shaping Tomorrow – Together we make each other better!
The exhibition extends from Europe to Sweden and Halmstad University, where various dimensions of environmental impact are expressed. How is Europe affected by climate change? Or what are Sweden's largest sectors in terms of climate emissions, and where does Halmstad University stand in relation to this?
Location: in the corridor between the S building and R building
This exhibition is held in both English and Swedish.
Exhibition: Better an asset than rubbish
During Sustainability Week, the exhibition Better an asset than rubbish will be on display, showcasing good examples and results from a completed project in which waste stations in student areas have been marked with symbols from Avfall Sverige (Waste Sweden) to increase circular material recycling.
Location: S building, entrance
This exhibition is held in both English and Swedish.
Exhibition: Learn more about the University’s two focus areas: Smart Cities and Communities, and Health Innovation
Come and learn about the University’s two focus areas: Smart Cities and Communities, and Health Innovation.
Location: Lab City, S building
This exhibition is held in both English and Swedish.
Exhibition: Popular science posters
Come and be inspired: everything from circular economy to sustainable student housing of the future will be presented.
Location: Lab City, S building
This exhibition is held in both English and Swedish.
Pop-up exhibition: FLUSH
Let’s build something together! Come along to discuss how our campus and housing can be more socially sustainable. Find out how we’re collaborating with stakeholders from the industry, and how you could be a part of it too.
Location
- 8 December: Fab Lab, S building
- 9 December: Lab City, S building
- 10 December: I building, 2nd floor by the café
- 11–12 December: University Library
Time
- 10.00–16.30 (all weekdays)
Maintainer
Melania Mihalcea, PhD student at the School of Information Technology at Halmstad University. She is exploring how we can collaboratively design student housing to nurture a sense of belonging.
Language
This exhibition is held in English.
Exhibition: Preparing for Floods
In Getinge, a small town just outside Halmstad, the water in Suseån river rose so high that 49 homes had to be evacuated in 2014. In this exhibition, you can read about the SEK 25 million project that now protects the town. In Halmstad, the city centre is threatened when the water rises in a warmer climate. Take a look into the future on the maps of the city and see how protection can be designed to blend into the urban environment.
Location
Glass corridor, main entrance
Maintainer
Halmstad Municipality
Language
Swedish
Poster: PREVENT – natural disasters
The PREVENT project aims to raise awareness among Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) about early warning systems by providing an innovative curriculum that incorporates deep technologies for natural disaster prevention. By involving HEIs in co-created methodological solutions, the project fosters long-term collaboration between deep tech experts, students, and local communities.
Location: in the corridor between the S building and R building
This exhibition is held in English.
Quiz walk
Take a quiz walk around the Sustainability Week exhibitions! How many questions can you answer?
Location: Pick up your quiz sheet at the Service Centre (open Monday–Friday, 9.00–15.00). You mark your answers yourself and any prizes can be collected from the Service Centre.
This activity is held in both English and Swedish.
About Sustainability Week
Theme week on sustainable development
Twice a year, in week 50 of the autumn semester and week 11 of the spring semester, Halmstad University organises Sustainability Week for all students and staff at the University. The week in December 2025 will be the first theme week.
Sustainability Week 2025 will highlight sustainability based on the three dimensions of ecological, social and economic sustainability. During the week, visitors can learn more about ongoing projects and research in the field of the environment and sustainable development, listen to speakers in the field, visit interesting exhibitions and participate in activities around the campus.
The weeks tie in with the University’s vision
During the sustainability weeks on campus, visitors will come together around the theme of sustainable development and have the opportunity to gain new insights and knowledge about sustainable social development from multiple perspectives. The weeks tie in with the University’s overall vision that the institution should create value, drive innovation and develop people and society for the future, including by creating conditions for, and contributing to, more sustainable social development.
The University’s vision, goals and strategies2
times every year, the University arranges a Sustainability Week.
5
days of lectures, exhibitions and activities highlighting the area of sustainable development.
26
different activities within the focus ecological, social and economic sustainability.
Collaboration partners 2025
More about sustainable development at the University
Sustainable Development Policy
Sustainability and sustainable development are some of the greatest challenges of our time, and every decision, measure and action has a sustainability dimension. Halmstad University has adopted a policy for sustainable development and supports the Climate Framework for Swedish Universities and Colleges developed by the Swedish Association of Higher Education (SUHF).
The University’s Sustainable Development Policy
Sustainability focus in education programmes
For the autumn semester of 2024, the University launched its sustainability focus for undergraduate programmes. New students admitted to programmes included in the sustainability focus are taking an elective course based on the UN’s Agenda 2030 and the global goals for sustainable development. Ten of the undergraduate programmes were included in the autumn semester of 2024, and 26 of the programmes are included from the autumn semester of 2025.
The sustainability focus will grow in the coming years. New students starting their studies will take a sustainability course in most undergraduate programmes.
Contact
Eleonor Gullberg, Environment and Security Coordinator
Photography and filming may take place during the week.
Photo: Halmstad University. Top picture: Illustrations by Tobias Flygar
