Press Release

13/06/2023

Vienna-based green building summer university welcomes next generation change makers in sustainability

Students and professionals with a commitment to become change-makers in the quest for a greener built environment will come together in Vienna this summer for a world-renowned programme, which looks at passive housing and sustainable construction from a truly international perspective.

Now in its 13^th year, the Green.Building.Solutions. (GBS) summer university has attracted built-environment students and professionals from across the globe over the years, looking to acquire in-depth expertise in sustainable construction and passive housing.

Over three weeks, they receive first class teaching from notable academic and industry leaders in sustainable construction, and also take time to live in and explore Vienna.

The programme also includes guided tours across the city’s best practice examples in energy efficient and climate neutral construction.

GBS covers nine modules, including Global Challenges and the Role of Buildings, Historical Development of Green Building Design, Quality of Life In and Around Buildings, as well as Socially Inclusive and Accessible Urban Spaces.

The Circular Economy in the Building Sector, Energy Concepts and Technologies, Software Toolbox and Modelling Simulation, and the Economy of Sustainable Buildings are also included, covering the latest developments in the field and enabling students to immerse themselves in simulating energy demand and its optimisation.

GBS concludes with project work, with the final module dedicated to group design work, taking in everything learnt in modules one to eight and applying it to a real-life case study.

This year’s GBS takes place from July 15 to August 6. A record number of participants have applied, with backgrounds including architecture, mechanical engineering, civil engineering and environmental engineering, from countries across Europe, the Middle and Far East, South America, North America, Africa and Australia.

Günther Jedliczka, CEO of OeAD student housing, which organises GBS, said: “GBS is a unique programme, which is gaining global recognition for its role in setting an agenda for green building techniques in the future.

“Key to its success is the international representation. For example, a student from Africa will have very different experiences of building with concerns to the climate than someone from North America, and when we come together as a group and consider all the global factors, the knowledge base of participants is significantly broadened and they collectively gain a much wider, more informed perspective.

“The location of the programme in Vienna is also a highly beneficial and attractive spot for students and, additionally, we can transfer Austria’s first-hand ecological knowledge and engineering expertise to GBS participants.

“Vienna is at the forefront of passive house design and GBS allows students to really take in this knowledge about green buildings and sustainability, and even see and experience it in real life, by living in the first student guesthouse in passive house standard worldwide, the Molkereistraße Gästehaus.”

OeAD student housing – part of Austria’s national agency for international mobility and cooperation in education, science and research – operates GBS under a not-for-profit arrangement.

Over the years, it has built up relationships with universities in the UK and Ireland.

Günther Jedliczka, added: “Delivering sustainable housing, construction and urban planning is one of the world’s major challenges.

“It’s becoming essential that the next generation of professionals in the built environment sector have the correct knowledge of green building and sustainability to meet the challenges ahead, and GBS is well-placed to provide that expertise.”

A small number of places are still available on GBS with registration open until June 30, 2023.

More details about the programme can be found at https://www.oeadstudenthousing.at/en/summer-universities/gbs/

As well as GBS, OeAD student housing also runs the Alternative Economic and Monetary Systems (AEMS) summer university which, like GBS, will take place in Vienna from July 17 to August 4, 2023. More at

https://www.oeadstudenthousing.at/en/summer-universities/aems/