Sustainability Education and Transdisciplinary Research Institute

Organisational unit: Institute

Organisation profile

At SETRI, the Sustainability Education and Transdisciplinary Research Institute, we embrace sustainability as a positive vision for a world that is both safe and just. We investigate how these concepts need to be applied within our local contexts to become tangible. We believe that in order to achieve this vision, we require spaces where we can collectively unlearn unsustainability in processes and mechanisms of inner and outer transformations. 

SETRI provides such spaces. It is home to transdisciplinary research and learning that transcends boundaries — be they between different schools of thought, geographies, disciplines and cultures, as well asor between science and society. Our mission is to facilitate transformative and transgressive approaches that enable individuals and collectives to challenge and change norms and structures perpetuating unsustainability in their daily lives. 

Main research areas

Solution-orientated: We embrace exploration, experimentation, and action-oriented research inquiry to focus on integrated solutions rather than singular problems.

Emergent: Based on a critical perspective we integrate diverse forms of knowledge to establish enduring partnerships that extend beyond short-term funding cycles, ensuring long-term impact and community engagement.

Transformative: Through place-based approaches such as real-world labs, we drive and investigate real-world transformation by tackling concrete challenges in distinct settings to learn to scale transformations long term.

Radical: By stimulating novel and unconventional approaches, we seek to inspire innovative perspectives and try to push beyond established knowledge and non-normal sciences.

Inclusive: We empower a diversity of individuals and communities to engage in deliberative processes aimed at values clarification, goal-setting, dialogue, and meaning-making to foster a shared sense of purpose and direction.

  1. Submitted

    Inter- und Transdisziplinarität

    Weiser, A., Bürgener, L., Steinbrügge, F. & Lang, D. J., 2025, (Submitted) Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Impuls – Wandel kritisch-konstruktiv gestalten lernen: Das neue Modul „Transformation“ im Leuphana Semester

    Picht-Wiggering, L., Bürgener, L., Fischer, D. & Nigro, R., 2025, Interdisziplinäre Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung (I-BNE): Beiträge zur zweiten Fachkonferenz 2024 an der Technischen Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm. Humburg, D., Dernbach, B. & Klages, M. (eds.). p. 5-14 10 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsEducation

  3. Accepted/In press

    Why context matters: Understanding transdisciplinary research through the lens of nine context factors

    Tolksdorf, F., Jimenez-Aceituno, A., Frölich, N. M., Amoah, N. A. B., Grauer, C., Baird, J., Ballnat, C., Horcea-Milcu, A. I., König, B., Pedersen, R. L., Costa, M. M., Manuel-Navarrete, D., Martin, D. A., McGlynn, B., Mehring, M., Mühlthaler, S., Schneider, F., Singer-Brodowski, M., Vilalba, L., Weiser, A. & Lang, D. J., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Innovation - The European Journal of Social Science Research.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. E-pub ahead of print

    (Re-)learning time use and perception for sustainable development in schools – Qualitative results from a self-inquiry-based learning intervention

    Frank, P., Grauer, C. & Fischer, D., 12.06.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Time & Society. 38 p., 0961463X251343830.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Accepted/In press

    Methodological and empirical insights from gender vulnerability and adaptation responses to climate change in South Asia–a systematic review

    Choudhary, A., Ajgaonkar, H., Chauhan, N., Kaechele, H. & Joshi, P. K., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Climate and Development.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  6. Published

    Unveiling local knowledge: a case study on inner development and sustainable transformation in rural areas

    Schwenck, C., Pfendtner-Heise, J. & von Wehrden, H., 12.2025, In: Discover Sustainability. 6, 1, 24 p., 225.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    A critical analysis of the policy potential for sustainable agriculture in India

    Chauhan, N. & von Wehrden, H., 12.2025, In: Discover Sustainability. 6, 1, 13 p., 233.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  8. Accepted/In press

    Inner Development Goals zur Erreichung der Sustainable Development Goals – Ein Self-Assessment als Reflexionsanlass zum Einsatz in transformativen Lernprozessen

    Hantke, H. & Lorch, A., 2025, (Accepted/In press) Klimawandel und Bildung – Interdisziplinäre Grundlagen und didaktische Impulse. Pijetlovic, D. & von Au, J. (eds.). München

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesEducationpeer-review

  9. Published

    Dichotomy or continuum? A global review of the interaction between autonomous and planned adaptations

    Maskell, G., Shukla, R., Jagannathan, K., Browne, K., Ulibarri, N., Campbell, D., Franz, C. P., Grady, C., Joe, E. T., Kirchhoff, C. J., Madhavan, M., Michaud, L., Sharma, S., Singh, C., Orlove, B., Alverio, G. N., Ajibade, I., Bowen, K. J., Chauhan, N., Galappaththi, E. K., Hudson, A. J., Mach, K. J., Musah-Surugu, J. I., Petzold, J., Reckien, D., Schauberger, B., Segnon, A. C., van Bavel, B. & Gornott, C., 02.2025, In: Ecology and Society. 30, 1, 39 p., 18.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Accepted/In press

    Unravelling deep roots in drylands: A systems thinking participatory approach to the SDGs

    Aguiar, A. P. D., Collste, D., Cortés-Calderón, S., Sonetti-González, T., Alves-Martins, M., Castro, A. J., Diallo, A., Eriksson, K. M., Goffner, D., Harmáčková, Z. V., Jiménez-Aceituno, A., López-Rodríguez, M. D., Mancilla-García, M., Olofsson, V., Perez-Marin, A., Silva-Bezerra, F. G., Sinare, H. & Stragier, C., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Global Sustainability. 8

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

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