We are currently undergoing the biggest transformation process since the industrial revolution. Not only the economy, politics, infrastructure, and technology are changing, we also need a profound cultural shift toward greater sustainability. The change affects more than just our infrastructures and social structures; it also affects us as human beings, people, individuals. This comprehensive and far-reaching sustainability transformation is as necessary as it is challenging. It can be frightening, but it can also inspire courage and enthusiasm for the future.

The School of Transformation addresses precisely this field of conflict and develops experimental teaching and educational formats that enable students to get to know themselves better and to understand and reflect on themselves as part of the “Great Transformation” within the context of their own lives.

Based on the concepts of “Personal Sustainability” and “Psychology of Sustainability” as well as the competence approach of “Inner Development Goals” students will learn in transformative workshops and other courses how to explore themselves and their own willingness to change and how to take proactive action. They have the opportunity to experience self-efficacy and to jointly reflect on it in a protected environment.

The School of Transformation is a joint pilot project of the Karlsruhe Transformation Center for Sustainability and Cultural Change (KAT) and the House of Competence (HoC) and is currently in an exploration phase.

The KAT contributes experience and expertise in transformative research and education as well as in personal sustainability. It draws on the experience of the real-world lab research in District Future and the educational formats of the Karlsruhe School of Sustainability, which has been providing and further developing education for sustainable development at KIT in various formats for over 15 years. According to KAT’s own understanding, systemic thinking, transformation competence, and personal sustainability go hand in hand.

The HoC particularly provides educational programs from the Perspectives Lab, which support students in their personal development and inner positioning. They open up new scopes of action for students, as pioneers of change provide positive examples in the courses, encouraging in-depth discussion and inspiring action. Self-reflection as a central competence of all courses creates an awareness of one’s own role in transformation processes.

The School of Transformation is also supported by the KIT Center Humans and Technology.

Students can register for the courses via the House of Competence’s curriculum and have them credited toward their interdisciplinary academic achievements.