Sustainable Development Academy (SDA) at the University of Potsdam

food4future at the International Summer School

03.08.2021
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From July 26 until August 6, 2021, the University of Potsdam hosts the Sustainable Development Academy (SDA) for international students and young researchers allowing the participants to engage critically with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Via lectures and practical workshops, the participants learn to adopt creative approaches to implement the sustainability goals in research and their communities.


The participants receive information about the scope and interdependent nature of the 17 sustainability goals and the status quo of the implementation process guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Together with experts, the participants explore a few selected SDGs in more detail in practical workshops and experience in case studies how to implement these aspects in specific fields of action.

The participant's two food innovations "Ocean Ice Cream" with macroalgae and the "HALO Health" food box.

The participants receive information about the scope and interdependent nature of the 17 sustainability goals and the status quo of the implementation process guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Together with experts, the participants explore a few selected SDGs in more detail in practical workshops and experience in case studies how to implement these aspects in specific fields of action.

The food4future coordination & management together with the coordination office of “Agricultural Systems of the Future” contributed to the Sustainable Development Academy with a workshop on “Food innovations for sustainable nutrition” that took  place on July 29 to July 30. Here, the participants were first introduced to food4future's concept and its interdisciplinary research approaches. In the practical part of the workshop, the participants had the opportunity to develop ideas for innovative food products on the basis of the organisms that are studied within food4future using a Design Thinking approach.

In a brainstorming phase, the participants generated a wide range of innovative ideas for new food products for the different organisms we introduced. From the many possibilities, two ideas for food innovations were selected by the participants, for which business models were then developed in a next step.

Die vier Organismen werden in food4future als Basis für Food-Innovationen für eine gesunde, nachhaltige Ernährung der Zukunft untersucht.
From left to right: Medusa of the "upside-down“ jellyfish C. andromeda (A. Meyer, ZMT), Salicornia europaea/Glasswort (M. Fitzner, IGZ), the macroalgae Ulva (J. Vogt, IGZ) and the cricket Acheta domesticus (N. Schwab, ATB).

As a result of the workshop, the participants presented with great enthusiasm a new type of ice cream based on macroalgae with the name "Ocean Ice Cream" and the halophyte-based food box "HaloHealth".

We were impressed by both ideas, including exciting concepts on how the topic of food can also be used to convey sustainability issues for the wider public. The wealth of ideas to innovate the food sector was very inspiring, and the workshop results will be used food4future to develop innovative products for the food sector.

Text: Dr. B. Regierer, IGZ