Experience Europe – Making Mobility Greener with Erasmus+
25 April, 2022
The EU wants to raise awareness among Erasmus+ participants about sustainability, climate change, and environmental protection and create new incentives to keep the carbon footprint to a minimum.
The new Erasmus+ program generation will be more inclusive, more digital and greener. The environment and the fight against climate change are among the European Union’s key priorities, so it is not surprising that they have found their way into the new Erasmus+ program. The ever-increasing challenges of climate change are in tension with the actual core element of Erasmus+: mobility. Physical travels inevitably lead to CO2 emissions but are also indispensable for the implementation of joint cooperation projects. The goal of the EU is therefore to raise awareness among Erasmus+ participants about sustainability, climate change, and environmental protection and to create new incentives to keep the carbon footprint to a minimum. The Erasmus+ program now promotes Green Travel with more environmentally friendly means of transport and, in addition, more funding for green travels in general: students who travel green more than 50 percent of their journey will receive a one-time top up of 50 Euros and, if needed, up to four additional travel days for their stay.
For Dominik Ratka and Verena Bach, students of the Master’s degree program Healthcare & Rehabilitation Technology, it was the obvious choice to carpool to their internship site in Zorneding near Munich. After a short Tetris game with their luggage, they started in Wien-Meidling and arrived in Zorneding after a 4.5-hour drive. Carpooling is not only cheap but also more environmentally friendly: two cars with one person each need almost twice as much fuel for the same distance as a car with two people.
Dominik Ratka and Verena Bach traveled by carpool to Zornedinig.
Joel Hanke chose the train for his trip to Southern Denmark University.
Joel Hanke, student of the Master’s degree program in Mechatronics/Robotics, also traveled in the same way: taking the night train via Hamburg to his destination in Odense in Southern Denmark. He planned the trip to Southern Denmark University well in advance and was thus able to decide early enough regarding the journey. A cheap train ticket for a seat in the sleeping car to Hamburg finally tipped the scales in favor of the train. After a quiet night and breakfast shortly before arriving in Hamburg, he changed trains to Odense. 3.5 hours later, he reached his destination for the upcoming semester abroad with full anticipation.
Apropros: a decisive argument for alternative means of transport to the airplane for all participants was the unrestricted carrying of luggage!
The University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien has partnerships with higher education institutions that are easily reachable from Vienna by train. These include not only our neighboring countries, but also partners in Poland and the Netherlands.
From time to time, choosing air travel cannot be avoided, nevertheless, it is possible to reduce the ecological footprint when air traveling. Here are a few tips and tricks to make air travel more sustainable:
- Avoid air travel whenever possible. If you can’t help it, book direct flights – alarge portion of emissions are caused during takeoff and landing.
- Use an airline that offsets its CO2 emissions or offers the option to do so directly.
- Plan to travel to and from the airport by public transport.
- Take documents (e.g., airline tickets) with you digitally. This saves printing costs and reduces the weight of your luggage.
- Less is more – it’s better to travel less often and plan for longer.
- Make sure your luggage is small and light. The heavier the plane, the more CO2 emissions it produces.
Compare the impact you make when choosing an environmentally friendly mode of transport!
For more information about stays abroad and Green Erasmus+, please contact the International Office.