While the Department maintains an overall interdisciplinary focus on environmental sustainability, it has articulated four areas of academic strength, which help to organize its teaching and strengthen research visibility. For detailed descriptions of Research Clusters please see under submenus.
Departmental Research Projects (selected)
Current:
- Mapping the contribution of nature-based solutions to urban sustainability worldwide 2021
- SENTINEL (Sustainable Energy Transitions Laboratory) 2019-2022 - H2020 grant
- ENEFIRST (Making Energy Efficiency First principle operational) 2019-2022 - H2020 grant
- ENGAGE (Exploring National and Global Actions to reduce Greenhouse gas Emissions) 2019-2023 - H2020 grant
- URBANA (Urban Arena for Sustainable and Equitable Solutions) 2019-2021 - H2020 grant
- Management effectiveness evaluation in the Kruger-to-Canyons Biosphere Reserve 2019-2023
- Predation induced livestock loss adjacent to the Kruger National Park – monitoring the scale, scope and the impact of compensation 2018-2022
- 2017 Erasmus+: Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree: Masters in Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management MESPOM 586567-EPP-1-2017-1-HU-EPPKA1-JMD-MOB, coordinated by CEU (3rd Erasmus + grant managed for MESPOM)
Completed:
- 2007 – 2010 Marie Curie RTN – AQUATRAIN: Geogenic chemicals in groundwaters and soils
- 2007-2015 FP6 IP – STACCATO: Sustainable Technologies and Combined Community Approaches Take Off
- 2009 – 2012 Erasmus Joint Project - Improvement of education on environmental management
- 2011-2015 UNEP GEO5 - Support to Prof. Pinter serving as Coordinating Lead Author of the Scenario chapter of GEO-5 and the European GEO-6 report;
- 2011-2012 ZOI/UNEP - Environmental scenario for Belarusian energy security
- 2011-2014 FP7 Collaborative – CRISP: Creating Innovative Sustainability Pathways
- 2011-2013 FP7 - ENVIROGRIDS: Building Capacity for a Black Sea Catchment Observation and Assessment System supporting Sustainable Development
- 2011-2014 FP7 Collaborative – LIMITS: Low Climate Impact Scenarios and the Implications of required tight emission control strategies
- 2012-2015 Resilience in the Limpopo Basin Program (RESILIM) - Olifants (O) Programme, South Africa, funded by AWARD (Association for Water and Rural Development / USAID)
- 2016 FP7 Collaborative – ARTS: Accelerating and Rescaling Transitions to Sustainability
- 2013-2015 Application of Information and Communication Technologies in Water Management (ISEPEI) funded by UNEP
- 2016-2018 Evaluating impact of climate change on Reindeer habitats, funded by University of Oslo
- 2011-2018 FP7 IMPRESSIONS: Impacts and Risks from High-end scenarios: Strategies for Innovative Solutions
- 2017 Mapping of human-wildlife interaction of the Mauritius Fruit Bat (Pteropus niger) in Mauritius, funded by CEU and Mauritius Wildlife Foundation
- 2017 – 2020 Jean Monnet Chair in Energy and Innovation Strategies, The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Union, Erasmus+ Programme, Michael LaBelle
- 2016-2021 NATURVATION (NATure-based URban innoVATION) H2020 Collaborative SCC-03-2016
For details and more projects please visit our projects page.
Embeddedness of Department in Broader Academic Community
Given the broad scope and policy relevance of its research activities, departmental faculty is represented in many prominent professional associations and have a regular presence in high-level scientific conferences. Faculty members have also played and continue to play a lead role in well-known science-policy fora and assessments such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Global Environment Outlook (GEO), the Global Energy Assessment (GAE) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
Our faculty are actively engaged in a very wide variety of projects and activities on many levels and of various scales: research ranges from individual projects funded by CEU to EU international collaborations and EU framework projects, as well as projects supported by various UN agencies (UNDP, UNEP, FAO). We are also securing governmental or institutional grants from various countries, including the US, Hungary, Russia, Sweden, the UK, and France. The Department has a solid track record of attracting external research grants, and during 2018 departmental faculty was involved in four new major EU grant applications. Faculty also publish in a wide range of journals, books, and policy fora.