EULiST-Festival: Celebrating Diversity and Sustainability in STEM
July 2nd, 2026 · Königlicher Pferdestall, Hannover
The EULiST-Festival brought together students, staff, and community members from across the EULiST alliance (Leibniz Universität Hannover, STU Bratislava, Jönköping University, and other partners) to celebrate diversity in STEM and sustainability. The day opened with remarks from Prof. Dr.-Ing. Regina Nogueira, followed by keynotes and a panel discussion on women’s representation in STEM, technology, and entrepreneurship. A midday keynote focused on building interdisciplinary sustainability networks, and the afternoon featured parallel workshops on making STEM programmes more inclusive, supporting the role of male allies, and student-led sustainability initiatives. The event closed with a festive conclusion at the LUH Summer Festival.
On STEM diversity, the day underscored that diversity strengthens innovation and academic excellence, but progress depends on active, ongoing allyship rather than symbolic gestures. Unconscious and institutional bias were named as the greatest barriers to inclusion, and male allies were highlighted as important partners in driving change through education and advocacy. Women remain underrepresented, particularly in leadership, and initiatives like FemMatrix at LUH were cited as effective models for mentoring and empowerment. The core message: true allyship is continuous action, not just a label.
On sustainability, students from six EULiST partner universities (NTUA, URJC, STU, JU, UnivAQ, BUT) presented projects through pitches and a poster gallery walk, surfacing multiple opportunities for future alliance-wide collaboration. Concrete next steps discussed include potential student sustainability competitions (inspired by NTUA), an open call for student-led sustainability projects across the network, and a new LUH seminar — “Sustainability in Action: Circular Economy & Cradle to Cradle” — opening to EULiST students in winter semester 2026/27.
Words of Gratitude
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the speakers and contributors who made this festival such a meaningful and inspiring day:
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Regina Nogueira, for her warm welcome and vision in opening the festival
- Prof. Cornelia Lee-Thedieck, for her inspiring keynote on stem cell biology and female scientist networks
- Petra Kotuliaková, for two powerful contributions — her keynote on technology and gender, and her workshop on male allyship — and for her tireless work empowering women in tech through AjTYvIT
- Prof. Jutta Papenbrock, for sharing her expertise on building interdisciplinary sustainability networks
- Hanna Ehlert and Sandra Skupin (Hannoverimpuls), for enriching the panel discussion with valuable start-up perspectives
- Sarah Peters, for her thoughtful workshop on making STEM programmes more attractive to marginalised groups
- Sarah Krische, for her insights on awareness-raising and equal opportunities
- Terézia Hubáčková and Jonas Koch, for showcasing student-led sustainability initiatives and fostering cross-university exchange
- Maggie Hovhanessian, for facilitating the networking session and connecting students across the EULiST community
- Vasif Faradzhov and Stephen Sechrist, for skillfully moderating the day’s sessions
Their generosity in sharing knowledge, experience, and personal commitment gave the festival its energy and purpose. Thanks to their contributions, participants leave not only better informed, but genuinely motivated to take action — as allies, as innovators, and as changemakers for a more diverse and sustainable future.
We are also deeply grateful to the entire EULiST- LUH Team and organizing staff whose behind-the-scenes work made the day possible, and to our partners and funders — DAAD, the European Union, STU Bratislava, and Jönköping University — for their continued support of this alliance.
