The spring of 2021 brought about great improvements towards environmental friendliness at Semmelweis University. This signifies the time when the University Senate accepted the plan of the Green University Project, which was presented by the President of the Students’ Union, Bálint Tripolszky.
Since then we’ve reached many great goals, which would have been impossible without the participation of the student body, which may make it even more of an achievement. Not only were we able to clean and add greenery to areas (like at the Pető András Faculty’s building), but we could also increase environmental consciousness. This is significant, for the only way we can make a difference is by implementing new practices and attitudes into our day-to-day lives. We’d like to further this notion, and our next accomplishment ties us directly to it.
Perhaps our greatest achievement is the start of a new elective subject, which will be available to all students by this spring semester. The elective titled, ‘Green University – Together, for the Environment‘ is a 2-credit subject, which aims to increase the knowledge of the students about the environment and resources available to them, as well as to educate them about the proper usage of the facilities at the University. These steps all aim to maximize the outcomes of the efforts towards protecting the environment.
As usual, the elective will consist of a theoretical and practical aspect, but the practical parts are anything but the ‘usual’. The theoretical module will consist of presentations discussed by renowned lecturers, such as the effects of pollution on well-being, which may be a problem that we will all encounter later in our careers. Further topics will include global environmental issues, waste management, and sustainable healthcare.
Meanwhile, the practical module of the elective will consist of community activities, such as hiking, vegan food events, planting trees, “month-long challenges”, or even presentations to be held for primary school students. All of these aim to bring the students of the University together while caring for the environment and to spread the word of environmental friendliness.
Therefore, if protecting the environment is important to you, and you wish to learn more about how to do so, here is the opportunity! If you’d like to meet people with similar ambitions as you and you’d like to spread the word, don’t hesitate to register for the subject on Neptun, titled ‘Green University – Together, for the Environment‘! See you at the lectures, let’s make a difference!