The Sustainability Challenge goes international
Let’s navigate change together
We live in a time of constant change and growing complexity. The question is not whether change will happen, but how we choose to navigate it.
Funded by
Who we are
Three perspectives, one challenge
Students
Students who want to apply knowledge, share perspectives and develop the skills they need to shape change.
Universities
Universities that open classrooms beyond disciplines, connect research with practice and foster international exchange.
Partners
Organisations and practice partners that provide real challenges, co-create solutions and build impact beyond the university.
Because the future is not something we simply have to adapt to.
It is something we can create – together.
Our vision
The Sustainability Challenge is not about reproducing knowledge. It is about bringing students, universities and organisations together to apply knowledge, share perspectives and turn complexity into opportunity.
Our mission
We create a space where people can experiment, collaborate and act – developing the skills, critical thinking, agency and resilience they need to shape change.
Our story
16 years of the Sustainability Challenge
Since 2010, the Sustainability Challenge has connected students, lecturers and practice partners in Austria. Coordinated by RCE Vienna together with universities such as WU Vienna, BOKU University, TU Wien and the University of Vienna, it grew into an award-winning, two-semester course on the Sustainable Development Goals: student teams from all disciplines tackled real sustainability challenges with companies, NGOs and public institutions – or turned their own ideas into sustainable start-ups.
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16
editions since 2010
1,100+
students
130
partners and start-ups
200+
projects
The team
Meet the people behind SCI
Madeleine
I’m passionate about creating learning spaces where students, educators and partners from across society learn through experience. Tackling real-world challenges in interdisciplinary teams, they develop new skills, embrace diverse perspectives and discover their potential to drive positive change.
I believe the most powerful learning happens when people from different worlds tackle challenges that matter together. From my work in environmental policy, European diplomacy and education, I know how international cooperation turns bold ideas into real impact – and that’s what the SCI is about.
Adam
Daniel
With a background in Philosophy of Technology and Economics, I’m interested in how fair economic and societal change can happen – and where technology brings us together or drives us apart. As Community and Event Manager, I help participants bring their skills and perspectives together to shape a better future.
I think change starts small: when the mindset of one person, a community or a company shifts, new solutions emerge that can change things worldwide. We need many such grassroots places – that’s why I’m working to make the SCI bigger.
Clara
Partners
Universities for Sustainability Challenge International 2027
The Sustainability Challenge was built together with universities and start-up centres across Austria – the foundation we now take international.
Partners we have been working together with in the last years
Over 16 editions, we have worked with more than 130 partners and start-ups – among them ÖBB, A1, SPAR, VERBUND, Siemens, Wiener Stadtwerke, Bank Austria, PORR, ÖAMTC and SK Rapid Wien.
Get in touch
Let’s navigate change together
Interested in joining, partnering or learning more? We would love to hear from you.
Where we are based
Our home at WU Vienna
The Sustainability Challenge is based at WU Vienna, the Vienna University of Economics and Business, where it has been run since 2010. WU is the institutional home of Sustainability Challenge International.
Within WU, the programme is anchored at STaR, the Competence Center for Sustainability Transformation and Responsibility – WU’s hub for sustainability.