ZusammenfassungGlobale Umweltveränderungen, die dem technischen Fortschritt, der wachsenden Bevölkerung, der wachsenden Wirtschaft und dem daraus resultierenden Verlangen nach immer mehr Ressourcen geschuldet sind, wirken auf die natürlichen Regelkreise die das Ökosystem Erde steuern ein. Die zukünftige Vermeidung der Überbeanspruchung der Umwelt stellt eine der größten Herausforderungen dar, die die Menschheit zu lösen hat. Durch die Unterzeichnung der Pariser Klimaziele sowie der Sustainable Development Goals wurden die Weichen zur Abkehr vom bisherigen Wirtschafts- und Produktionssystem gestellt. Als Beitrag zur Lösung dieser Problematik wurde die European University on REsponsible Consumption And PROduction (EURECA-PRO) unter der Schirmherrschaft der Europäischen Union und des Erasmus Programmes gegründet. Abgesehen von einer strategischen Agenda im Bereich der Lehre entwickelte EURECA-PRO auch eine ambitionierte Forschungsagenda mit derzeit fünf Leuchtturm Forschungsrichtungen, die scherpunktmäßig Lösungen für das Bewältigen von negativen globalen Umweltveränderungen entwickeln sollen. EURECA-PRO nutzt die Synergien der Vernetzung von sieben Universitäten und einer Reihe assoziierter Partner aus verschiedenen Stakeholder Gruppen.

The cyclic growth and shrinkage of solid oxides (i.e. wollastonite) in $$\text {CaO}$$ CaO –$$\text {SiO}_2$$ SiO 2 -based slags is investigated in-situ by means of High-Temperature Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy (HT-CSLM). The compositions of the slags are carefully selected to induce different phase transformation conditions, i.e. congruent and incongruent melting/solidification. To complement the experimental results, the kinetics of growth and shrinkage of oxide crystals is investigated by means of a sharp interface model where the interfacial reaction and diffusion in the liquid bulk are considered as possible rate-controlling processes. The modelling approach combined with data analysis from key experiments reveals the underlying dissipative processes of solidification and melting phenomena, here, diffusion in the liquid bulk material and/or the interfacial reactions. The modelling approach is likely to be applicable for future materials design and processing problems from this perspective.

The European Commission (EC) called for proposals to form European University Alliances (EUA) in 2019 and 2020 to promote Europe’s universities competitiveness in the world and strengthen the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and European Research Area (ERA). With the objective to create a global educational core hub on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 “responsible consumption and production”, a consortium of seven universities, led by Montanuniversität Leoben, received a three-year funding in 2020 for the development of a European University on REsponsible Consumption And PROduction (EURECA-PRO).

This article describes the development of Europe-wide higher education and research. The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is an educational initiative of the European Commission designed to increase staff and student mobility and improve the employability of graduates. In addition, the ERASMUS programme has enabled millions of students to study abroad. In the field of research, the European Union is pursuing the vision of a unified European Research Area (ERA), open to the whole world and allowing the free transfer of researchers, scientific knowledge, and technologies. To link ERA and EHEA, European University Networks have been established to develop “European Joint Degrees” to educate highly qualified future graduates with European values. The European University on REsponsible Consumption And PROduction (EURECA-PRO) has the ambitious goal of not only strengthening the EHEA and ERA but also of mapping the circularity of materials and material flows, including their environmental impacts, in teaching and research.

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