Arqus Twinning Week at the University of Graz: Greening transitions with AI

As part of the Arqus Twinning programme, the University of Graz recently hosted a week-long academic and cultural exchange under the title “Greening Transitions with AI: Climate Employment and Sustainability in Action.” The programme welcomed five students and two professors from the University of Minho for an intensive week of learning, discussion, and collaboration.

The week began with a kick-off session and an introduction to the University of Graz by Dr. Eva Fleiß, providing participants with an overview of the institutional context and ongoing research activities. This was followed by participation in the course Decision Making, led by Prof. Thomas Brudermann and Lars Döringer, where students engaged with key concepts such as nudging, choice architecture, and heuristics in the context of sustainable behaviour.

The next day started with a guided city tour through Graz which offered participants the opportunity to explore the cultural heritage of the city, complemented by informal exchange with local students. These moments outside the classroom played an important role in fostering intercultural dialogue and peer-to-peer learning.

On Wednesday the academic programme continued with a dedicated workshop day. A guest lecture by Prof. Ligia Pinto addressed the role of nudging in climate policy, followed by an interactive session on public acceptance of climate measures and the role of perceived fairness by Simone Ringhofer. Participants actively engaged in discussions, reflecting on how policy design influences societal support for sustainability transitions and how the fairness of a policy can be assessed.

On Thursday participants explored the University of Graz campus, including the newly established library, and gained hands-on insights during a guided tour of the weather garden and the astronomy tower hosted by colleagues from the Institute of Physics. In addition, Prof. João Cerejeira delivered a lecture on the labour market implications of digital and green transitions, while Dr. Jürgen Fleiß introduced fundamental concepts of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and large language models.

The week concluded with a feedback session, certificate handover, and a joint closing lunch, providing an opportunity to reflect on the experiences and outcomes of the exchange.

It was a really nice week full of good conversations, knowledge exchange and also a lot of fun!

Article and photos by Simone Ringhofer (University of Graz).