"City4Future shows what good STEM education is all about: the optimism of being able to master the challenges of tomorrow with scientific expertise, as well as the direct link between research and practice and everyday life", explains Education Minister Dr. Stefanie Hubig. 

Where does our energy come from and how is it transformed, transmitted and stored? Is it possible to do this in a completely sustainable way? How can we improve engery efficency issues in our buildings?  Can we develop a climate neutral city within 10 years of time? 

The research group submerge into these questions from an educational perspective. In cooperation with "Wissensfabrik" and the Wuppertal Institute of Climate, Environment und Energy, the project City4Future aims to create a learning environment that enables learners of science education classes to model future urban spaces via experimentation and exploration. Questions about energy supply, climate change and sustainability are adressed to students. Thus, leading them to an exciting journey towards a sustainable and climate friendly future.

Didactic concept:

The City4Future project is based on a holistic concept that is orientated towards the triad of education for sustainable development. The structure of the modules follows the pattern: ‘Research and analyse - reflect and evaluate - act’ and thus promotes technological understanding and the ability to judge social solutions. In accordance with the approach of research-based learning, students can explore most of the content in an experience-led and self-organised manner and experiment independently. This approach promotes long-term retention of the content and enables transfer to new, more complex situations.

Aims of the project:

• Students develop their own climate-friendly city and thus experience the topics of energy, sustainability and climate change in a concrete and everyday way
• Students learn key skills such as independence, creativity and social skills
• Students gain knowledge about climate change and the physical and technical relationships between energy generation and storage
• Students learn to place this knowledge in a social context and engage in democratic discourse

On 17 November 2025, the Bamberg Climate and Energy Agency, on behalf of the city and district of Bamberg, awarded the 2025 Climate Protection Prize in the category of organisations, schools or other institutions to the Department of Science Education and all those involved in the City4Future educational project.

The City4Future project, which was developed primarily by the Department of Science Education at the University of Bamberg, combines climate education, sustainability and democratic participation. City4Future is aimed at pupils in years 7 to 10 of all types of secondary school and enables them to design their own climate-friendly cities in an interdisciplinary format. In practice-oriented modules, participants address key issues for the future, such as energy efficiency, renewable energies and their storage, and sustainable urban development, and develop concrete solutions for a sustainable model city based on their own experiments. Through role-playing games, for example, young people develop a broad understanding of issues such as climate justice from regional, national and global perspectives.

The project was particularly praised for its high practical relevance, nationwide transferability and social impact. City4Future is used throughout Germany. The handbook is available as a free OER on the Wissensfabrik website, and experimental materials are also provided to schools free of charge through the education partner principle.

These collaborations show how education, science and business can work together to make effective contributions to climate education.