Pupils present solutions relating to water.
The Faculty of Business Administration and Engineering Management at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences hosted the awards ceremony for the 2nd Zittau Sustainability Competition on April 11, 2025.
On this day, the focus at the university was on sustainability and the conscious use of water as a valuable resource. Pupils from the region and neighboring countries presented their projects on water use, water consumption and the protection of our water resources.
A total of six creative and technically sound posters were submitted by four schools - the Evangelisches Gymnasium Tharandt, the SCHKOLA Ostritz and the Gymnasium F.X. Saldy from Liberec (CZ) and Gymnasium Ogólnokształcące from Kędzierzyn-Koźle (PL). The variety of contributions impressively demonstrated how committed and imaginative young people are in dealing with the challenges of our time.
The event was opened with a warm welcome from Prof. Dr. Malgorzata Mackowiak, Vice-Rector for Education and Sustainability, and Prof. Dr. Jörg Kroschel from the Faculty of Business Administration and Engineering Management. Both emphasized the importance of sustainability in education and praised the commitment of the participating young people.
The students' posters dealt with the topic of water and sustainability in a variety of ways. The focus was on the conscious use of natural resources. The topics covered included the protection and economical use of water, the preservation of peat bogs as water reservoirs, measures to retain water in the landscape and the importance of clean bodies of water. Water consumption in everyday life was also critically examined and potential savings identified.
The students presented their posters in person - with a lot of passion, creativity and remarkable expertise.
There were only winners at the award ceremony. First place went to the students from the Evangelisches Gymnasium Tharandt with their poster on the topic of "Sustainability in terms of water consumption" and the team from the Gymnasium F.X. Saldy Liberec with the entry "Sustainability - protecting water".
Second place was also awarded twice: students from the grammar school F.X. Saldy Liberec also impressed with the poster entries "Water retention in the landscape" and "Sustainability - peat bogs".
The SCHKOLA Ostritz - Freie Umweltmodellschule received a special youth prize for its poster on the subject of "Keeping our waters clean". The jury paid special tribute to the performance of the participating pupils in grades 5 and 6.
The special prize for artistic design went to the Ogólnokształcące Kędzierzyn Koźle grammar school for the poster "Let's protect our resources".
A cozy get-together rounded off the Friday afternoon - with conversations, laughter and the exchange of new ideas, the day ended in a pleasant atmosphere.
The Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences would like to thank all participants and contributors for their participation and is already looking forward to next year's competition.
Special thanks go to Sparkasse Zittau, BARMER Zittau, SOWAG from Zittau and Stadtwerke Zittau for their friendly support of the event.
Since 2023, the Faculty of Business Administration and Engineering Management has held an annual sustainability competition. School classes from the region have the opportunity to register and design a poster on a given topic related to sustainability. The most convincing entries are awarded prizes by a jury - including prize money for the class fund.
The 3rd Zittau sustainability competition will also be held in the 2025/2026 school year.
