Christina Kockel is a Chief Engineer at the Chair of Energy Systems Economics in RWTH Aachen University in Germany. Her background is in electrical engineering and business administration. She is currently studying for her PhD, where she is examining the factors of uncertainty in assessing the ecological impact of energy technologies throughout their entire life cycle. Her research has been recognised internationally, she, for instance, received the prize for the best young researcher contribution from the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) in 2022. She has been a member of our task force sustainability for two years.
We asked Christina Kockel to tell us more about the link between the work performed within the task force sustainability and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
“My views on sustainability fully align with those of the task force. We do not talk only about environmental sustainability but also about economic and social sustainability. The framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is, for that matter, very helpful especially SDG4 quality education, SDG5 gender equality and SDG10 reduced inequalities.
In the task force, we have two main objectives to make progress on those SDGs. The first one is to lead by example as highlighted in our recent white paper. We are reflecting on our universities to be role models in their sustainability programmes but also in promoting diversity within our students’ cohorts, our academic staff, and our management. On this, I appreciate the exchange with my peers within the task forces and get inspired by best practices from all around Europe. The second objective is to teach sustainability to our students because they will be the ones disseminating the knowledge globally. At RWTH Aachen, I am helping to build a micro bachelor for sustainability so that every student, no matter what subject they study, are able to take classes on sustainability. This micro bachelor is built along the SDGs, ensuring that the EDI perspective is thoughtfully integrated.”
The photo was taken by Peter Winandy, RWTH Aachen University Photographer
For more information, contact Information & Communication Officer Justine Moynat.