Abstract_Green IT

EPSIAE-European Exchange of Higher Education

EPSIAE – European Exchange of Higher Education
With Particular Emphasis on GREEN ICT

Martina Gaisch, Clemens Holzmann, Werner Kurschl,
Herwig Mayr, Stephan Selinger

School of Informatics, Communication and Media, Hagenberg
University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Austria

ABSTRACT

The intention of the European Project for Sustainable Information and Communication Technology in Academic Education (EPSIAE, http://www.epsiae.com/) is to raise awareness among students and faculty from various EU countries about the necessity for a more sustainable information and communication technology (ICT) and to confront them with different kinds of aspects to resolve problems of energy and material waste encountered in the ICT industry.

The EPSIAE project runs as part of an Intensive Programme funded by the EU and was set up by six academic institutions (Hogeschool INHOLLAND, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Metropolia University, Helsinki, Finland, Birmingham City University, U.K., NTUA, Athens, Greece, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Hagenberg, Austria) with the aim to bring together students and teaching staff from these six institutions for a two weeks’ intensive programme each year during the period the ESPIAE project runs (2011-2013). Within EPSIAE, “Green ICT” is promoted on a European level through:

• a team-driven multidisciplinary approach, as solutions often depend on knowledge areas other than ICT.
• a better understanding of how geographical locations might impact solutions, given that a locally suitable solution is likely to prove unsuccessful elsewhere.
• solid professional networks – IT professionals should build up and maintain an international multidisciplinary network .

Since the Intensive Programmes of the first and second year (both times organized in Amsterdam) have already taken place and the planning of the third (in Birmingham) is well under way, our paper will offer details about:

• experiences gained from the settings of the first two years and their impact on the layout for the third year,
• motivating students and teaching staff to engage in multinational and multicultural exchange – focusing on the particular EPSIAE scope in terms of GREEN ICT,
• the benefits and challenges of the – necessarily – highly interdisciplinary approach, including the broad range of background education of the participating students and faculty, covering ICT, Engineering, Chemistry, Business Informatics, Mechanics, and Business Economics.
• how students were encouraged to adopt a European perspective of academic education.

We conclude our paper with suggestions on how our results and experiences may be of use for other initiatives within EU ERASMUS or similar student exchange programs.