Sustainability and Design
Autumn School September 2026
by
Join us for our sustainability and Design Autumn School
Together, we will explore and advance our work in technology design for sustainability. If you work or research in the fields of design, human-computer interaction (HCI), psychology, sociology, or related, and are interested in sustainability topics such as behavior change, motivation, nature-relatedness, more-than-human design, or post-growth, apply!
What can you expect?
An opportunity to exchange ideas across different disciplines, gain fresh insights on your topic, and open doors to new collaborative opportunities.
One exciting outdoor nature activity.
A great time with other sustainability and human-computer interaction enthusiasts.
Important dates
Autumn School dates: September 28 – 30, 2026
Application deadline: July 24, 2026 (see the form below)
Practicalities
Location: Seminarhaus Leuther Mühle GmbH, Hinsbecker Str. 34, 41334 Nettetal, Germany
Accommodations are located at the event venue and will be arranged by us.
The cost of the autumn school is approximately €200 per person and includes lodging and vegetarian full board.
Keynote
Prof. Dr. Lenneke Kuijer
Lenneke is an assistant professor in the Industrial Design Department of Eindhoven University of Technology (NL). In her research, Dr. Kuijer integrates knowledge from Science and Technology Studies (STS) – a community in the social sciences that studies the broader, longer-term effects of technologies on everyday life – into novel design approaches and concepts aimed at anticipating and leveraging these effects towards lower environmental impacts. She uses a research-through-design approach in which critical theory is translated into and derived from exemplar designs such as the Splash bathing concept, the Living Shirt, and the BRYS conceptual thermostat.
Prof. Peter Gall Krogh
Peter Gall Krogh is trained as an architect and product designer. He is professor at the Department of Digital Design and Information Studies at Aarhus University and adjunct professor at Politecnico di Milano. Emblematic to the cross-disciplinary character of his work he has held design professorships in institutions based in art, technology and humanities. He contributes to research in service and interaction design based on co-design techniques emphasising aesthetics, inclusivity and sustainability. Furthermore, he has made significant contributions to the unpacking of practices and theoretical foundations of Constructive Design Research describing what design looks like and how it can be approached when developing knowledge is as equally important as providing opportunities by design.
Prof. Dr. Matthias Laschke
Matthias is a professor in the Faculty of Communication and Environment of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences (DE). His research focuses on design research and behavior change in Human-Computer-Interaction (HCI), with a focus on sustainability, transformation, and nature-relatedness. As group leader of the research group MOVEN, Matthias will give an overview of the three associated Ph.D. topics. This includes understanding internalization processes relating to people's motivation for pro-environmental behavior, design strategies that reshape friction in interaction with behavior change technologies, and more-than-human design in HCI with a focus on technology-mediated nature-relatedness.
Apply
Please provide some information and a short (150-word) abstract about yourself, your work, and why you would like to participate in the autumn school through the form below. After the official deadline, we will contact you with a response regarding your participation.
Program
14.30
Arrival
15.00
Welcome
15.15
Keynote Matthias Laschke
16.00
Introduction Participants
Evening
Dinner
After Dinner
Movie and games night (optional)
(Additional information regarding the program will be provided at a later date)
Mon
September 28
07.30
Early bird walk (optional)
08.00
Breakfast
09.00
Let’s start the day
09.15
Keynote Peter Gall Krogh
10.00
Workshop 1
13.00
Lunch
14.00
Nature Event
Evening
Dinner
After Dinner
Roundtable
(Additional information regarding the program will be provided at a later date)
Tue
September 29
07.30
Early bird walk (optional)
09.00
Let’s start the day
09.15
Keynote Lenneke Kuijer
10.00
Workshop 2
13.00
Lunch
14.00
Walk and talk
14.45
Closing
(Additional information regarding the program will be provided at a later date)
Wed
September 30
venue
Seminarhaus – Leuther Mühle
Hinsbecker Str. 34
41334 Nettetal
Germany
Foto: Käthe und Bernd Limburg, www.limburg-bernd.de / Lizenz: Creative Commons BY-SA-3.0 de
Background video in header: https://coverr.co/videos/raindrops-on-tree-branches-3uqt6iimbr