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Group Projects 2025
The three-week program of AEMS also includes (guided as well as unguided) group sessions, for students to develop their own projects for systemic change:
Each project addresses a social-ecological and/or economic challenge and relates to the nine points of intervention by Donella Meadows (1999) on the one hand, and the concept of dougnut economics by Kate Raworth (2017) on the other.
Get a glimpse at this year's marvelous projects below:
7 Generations Impact Investing
The project aims at improving transparency between investors and the companies they invest in:
The group proposed the founding of a consulting firm, providing different services to enable a better understanding of the social impact of the investment, including the creation of plain-language reports and visual dashboards, consultation of investors via a custom ESG/social impact assessment. They also designed a set of 7 indicators to describe the social performance of a company. A further goal is to offer coaching via workshops and training programs for sustainable impact.
Carbon Karma: A regenerative digital intervention for post-consumer empowerment
The group aimed at encouraging individuals to reduce their carbon footprint by making conscious lifestyle choices - with a focus on electronics, fashion and furniture. They therefore designed an interactive platform comprising a website and mobile app:
The visual dashboard on the platform enables individuals to see their carbon and water footprints, making the impact more accessible and broken down to solvable micro-actions. The app also includes progess bars, user rankings and badges for milestones. To foster community building, the platform connects users with second-hand retailers, repair services and sustainability forums.
Common Good Dashboard for a Global Village
In collaboration with the Economy for the Common Good (ECG), one project group democratically created a shared value system as a contrast to GDP:
Building up from 5 shared values the group agreed on (health, education, strong communities, environmental sustainability, social equity), they developed an indicator to measure the Common Good in a village.
The lessons learned from the process will be taken into account in the later workshops with ECG further pursuing the project.
Habitual - Make earth green again
The project approaches the perception that it is difficult to implement a sustainably-conscious lifestyle, by making change playful and fun: The students therefore developed the card-based sustainability game "Habitual", that is further supported by a mobile app.
Habitual guides individuals through 31 daily challenges across four core themes (sustainable eating, conscious consumption, eco habits & energy, living lightly) and provides additional helpful content via QR codes to provide further information on the impact of their actions.
The green whisperers
The project group aimed at spreading awareness for sustainable lifestyle choices with a focus on vegan food by creating a short film:
They conducted interviews on a busy street in Vienna, inviting people walking by to taste-test vegan and non-vegan cake, while also asking them for their opinion on the products, as well as their own willingness to reduce animal product consumption. The results showed prejudices against vegan products in terms of taste or texture, that are often biased, as well as a mixed willingness to change consumption habits.
This is our problem, too
One student focused on individual responsibility and the role of invidual behaviour change in the systemic issues we find ourselves facing: Climate change and the global emissions of CO2. Yet, this does not absolve society of individual responsibility for change, asking the question: Who is the system made up of if not all of us?
She also reflected on the sense of fulfilment and satisfaction, which remain undervalued by implying a link of more GDP and income leading to more happiness. This holds only true up to a certain amount. She found presence and satisfaction with what is a major driver for change within ourselves.
Token4Impact
This project group designed a reward-based digital currency that awards sustainable lifestyle choices: Individuals receive eco-euros for for completing eco-actions in four categories (sustainable consumption, recycling & lifestyle, green mobility, food & drink). These can then be redeemed at local businesses and service providers in the form of cashback, discounts, vouchers or other forms of special offers.
Token4Impact also includes an app, where users can keep track of their actions, as well as earned and spent coins. They can further join weekly challenges, and discover eco-friendly partner businesses in an interactive map.
To evaluate implementation potential, the student group visited eco-conscious businesses in Vienna and modelled the Environmental Awareness Score across different city districts.
Quick Truth - Authentic little conversations
With their project, the group focuses on narratives and a shift in what stories are told, who tells them and how people see their own role in the bigger picture:
The goal is to create a platform where people can share their unfiltered thoughts on the future of technology, society, and the planet - thereby challenging the notion that expert voices are the only legitimate ones, and providing space for people to be heard side by side, even when they disagree. With the platform, they want to foster a sense of collective ownership over the future, and a more equitable distribution of power.