Höxter Campus
Why the Common Good? Background on Campus Development
As part of its strategic university development plan, TH OWL aims to further develop its Höxter campus. The common good serves as the guiding principle for implementing this transformation toward sustainability in an innovative way and with broad public participation.
What does this mean? The campus is intended to be a place for everyone and focuses on sustainability and the common good as key societal goals: Everything that happens on campus should have the most positive impact possible on people, the environment, and the economy. The common good thus stands for a good life for all.
At the federal level, the “National Strategy for Social Innovation and Public Good-Oriented Enterprises” as well as the Science Council’s position paper “Science in Germany – Perspectives through 2040” provide ideal points of reference for this approach. The idea of the common good is also relevant for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and, in particular, for the district of Höxter, which aims to develop as a “common good region”: This was enshrined in the district development concept in 2024.
Goal: To develop into a center for scientific innovation
- The Gemeinwohl-Campus in Höxter is intended to serve as an internationally significant center of excellence for networking, research, and education related to the SIGU strategy.
- In doing so, regional, state-specific, and national perspectives on promoting the common good will be systematically integrated.
New programs for lifelong and transdisciplinary learning on topics related to the common good will also be developed and implemented across the entire educational continuum.
Learning, cooperating, and leveraging transfer potential
New transdisciplinary courses and “research-based learning” are designed to involve students at TH OWL and partner universities in issues of public interest in the region.
Developing and implementing together through dialogue
The success of the campus’s further development depends largely on broad participation from relevant stakeholders. To this end, discussions are currently underway with potential strategic project partners.
- For example, the University of Paderborn has already officially expressed its support for the concept of the common good at the Höxter site. It considers the concept to be innovative and forward-looking and sees it as a significant contribution to the implementation of the “Green OWL” master plan.
- Nationally recognized transformation researcher Prof. Dr. Uwe Schneidewind also wishes to support the establishment of a Public Good Institute and play an active role in the process.
To finance the project, a funding strategy will be developed with these partners to specifically acquire third-party funding from the EU, the federal government, the state, foundations, other institutions, and the private sector.
Do you have an idea on how you can support the development of the Höxter Campus?
If so, please use this template and send it to the contact information below.
Contact
Project Lead
Dr. Christoph Harrach
Email: christoph.harrach(at)th-owl.de