The ideas competition as part of our "Simply Saving Energy" campaign has met with a broad response. A wealth of suggestions was received by our university public relations office by the deadline on December 7. A total of 130 employees and students took part in the competition. I would like to thank you very much for this great resonance!

Hoodies and jackets from the Unishop were raffled off among all participants. The ten winners have been notified in the meantime. In the coming weeks, the President's Office and the relevant divisions will examine the suggestions received and, as far as possible, begin to implement them. The ideas competition has clearly shown that there is still enormous potential for savings in both heating and electricity consumption.

I would therefore like to ask the university's employees in particular to do everything they can to ensure that we do not waste any energy over the holidays that are now approaching. If rooms at the university will not be used for an extended period of time, please turn existing radiators to position 1 and, if possible, turn off existing electrical appliances completely. Wherever possible, refrain from using standby power.

With best thanks for your help and cooperation!

Professor Dr. Karla Pollmann
(President and Vice-Chancellor)

given the massive rise in prices for gas and electricity, we have to reduce our energy consumption quickly and efficiently. As I am sure you know, the government of Baden-Württemberg expects universities to cut their consumption of electricity and energy for heating by at least 20 percent. I believe we can only achieve this ambitious goal with your help, with the involvement of the staff and students of our university.

Many of you know the university inside out. So I am relying on your experience and knowledge to identify and optimize the necessary savings that we need. As a result, the President’s Office has decided to launch a competition to find the best ideas for energy saving. Our main aim in this is to identify further measures we can implement quickly and easily.

If you have any specific and practical proposals for how the university can reduce its heating and electricity use in the coming weeks, please send them to us by e-mail to hochschulkommunikationspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de no later than December 7, 2022.

On December 14, 2022, the President’s Office will review all the ideas that have been submitted. Everyone who takes part in the competition will be included in a raffle for attractive prizes from the Unishop.

Yours sincerely
Professor Dr. Karla Pollmann
(President and Vice-Chancellor)

If there is not enough time to answer all questions during the event, experts from the state building authority (VBA), Division VIII and the Facilities Management Office (TBA) will answer enquiries after the session. The time spent in attendance is considered work time for University employees.

Yours sincerely,
Professor Dr. Karla Pollmann
President and Vice-Chancellor

I' m sure that you – like myself – have been following the news about the energy  situation in Germany intensively over the past few months. Due to the extensive  outage of Russian natural gas supplies and the shutdown of more than half of  France's nuclear power plants, electricity and gas are currently scarce and  expensive throughout Europe. Similar to you as individual energy consumers, the  University is currently facing sharply increasing prices.

Unlike all other types of higher education institutions in Baden-Württemberg,  universities must generally bear their own energy costs. According to  preliminary estimates, the University of Tübingen will therefore be faced with  additional costs of around eight million euros in 2023. In the current year, it  is likely to be an additional two to three million euros. Meanwhile, the state  government has promised partial support. We will, however, still be faced with  additional costs in the millions. Moreover, the government expects us to reduce  energy consumption by 20 percent.
 
The German federal government has already stipulated by ordinance that the  temperature in normal office, laboratory, teaching, learning and workshop areas  be lowered to 19 degrees Celsius. However, this alone will not be enough to  achieve the 20 percent target. The President's Office is committed to making the  winter semester a semester of face-to-face teaching on campus. Nevertheless, the  University of Tübingen’s premises give little opportunity for saving energy  other than to exclude certain buildings for study and teaching from use for a  period of time. Against this background, the President's Office is planning the  following energy-saving measures for the 2022/23 turn of the year as a first
 step:
 

• During the week of December 19 to 23, courses are to be offered online only. This does not include laboratory practicals and similar courses, which must be  held on campus. The existing regulations on the obligatory attendance of  employees remain in place.
• From December 19 to January 8, the Kupferbau building and the event rooms in  the Morgenstelle 3 building will be closed. Examinations scheduled in either  building during this time will have to be moved to the Morgenstelle Lecture  Center or the Neue Aula building. This is due to the better energy balance of  the lecture center and the Neue Aula.
• In order to provide a sufficient number of workplaces for students, the opening  hours of the libraries planned for the period in question remain unchanged.

 
 In the coming weeks, the help of all members of the university will be crucial.
Only if you as students or employees actively contribute to our aim, we will  have a chance of effectively saving energy. I therefore ask you all: When you  are the last to leave a room, turn off the lights. If the room will not be used  for a longer period of time, please turn any radiators to position 1 and, if  possible, turn off electrical equipment completely. Wherever possible, refrain  from using standby mode. This applies especially between December 19 and January 8 as well as on weekends and holidays.
 
The University will be launching a campaign in the coming weeks in which we  would like to work with you to identify additional opportunities to save energy  quickly and efficiently. More information on this will be sent to you soon.
Already today, I would like to ask all building supervisors: Talk to your  colleagues and find out what options there are on your premises to reduce  consumption. This is not just about saving costs. Reducing our energy  consumption is also necessary to prevent the utility systems from collapsing  this coming winter. And let's not forget: by doing so, we are doing something to  protect the climate.
 
 I think you understand that, at the beginning of my term as president, I would  rather announce good news to you all than new burdens. As I see it, one thing is important: We can achieve a lot if we tackle the challenges ahead of us with  determination and distribute the resulting burdens fairly and with a sense of  proportion. In this, both your constructive feedback and your responsible  cooperation are crucial. My overriding objective here is to keep the university  a place of cutting-edge research, a home of excellent teaching, and a good place  to work. Together, we can overcome this crisis as well.
 
 I wish you all the best for the start of the new semester.
 Kind regards,
 Professor Dr. Karla Pollmann
 (President)