Gothenburg welcomes Student Switch Off for a second year
Guest article by Maria Angelopoulou (dorm coordinator in Gothenburg, Sweden)
The second year of Student Switch Off in Gothenburg is welcomed by many students with enthusiasm!
Since the beginning of the academic year, we had many chances of meeting students on various occasions such as our dorm visits, the Welcome Day fairs arranged by the two Universities of Gothenburg, our visits to the student café of Olofsöjd (the dorm area where the team competition takes place), and our own small events.
During these occasions we met students that came either from different parts of Sweden or from different parts of the world and we had very interesting short discussions with them. Some students shared with us stories or opinions on energy saving activities from their home countries while some thought that Student Switch Off should take place there as well. Some had participated in the team competition last year while some of them heard about the campaign for the first time. Finally, some students were confident that their team had good chances of winning while others thought they should improve on saving energy. Even this year’s ambassadors came from four different countries and they all had their own ideas on how to contribute to energy saving .
The best part is that this diverse group of students is all motivated and reminded that saving energy does matter! Therefore, the impact of Student Switch Off is not only restricted on how much energy will be saved during this year in Gothenburg but it is expanded to the improvement of the students’ habits and perspectives for a lifetime. Most importantly, the idea of saving energy will travel back with them to their home countries and spread between the families and friends of all the students involved.
With more events and dorm visits coming, we are excited that we will discuss the topic with more students, learn what they think about saving energy, how they feel about the campaign, and how we could reach out to them even more effectively in the future.
