Mountain regions face challenges like depopulation, climate change, tourism pressures, and biodiversity loss. In the hybrid course Sustainable Mountain Development, students from Tbilisi State University and the Department of Geography explored these issues, comparing the Caucasus and the Alps. Their insights are now featured in blog posts tackling key socio-political questions and solutions.

🛤 What drives young people to leave mountain regions?
🌿 Why is biodiversity conservation in cities important?
🏡 Could you imagine building your future in the mountains?
⚖️ When does federalism stand in the way of protecting nature?
🚠 Are car-free winter sport resorts the future of sustainable tourism?
⛷️ What can Georgia and Switzerland learn from each other’s ski resorts?

These are some of the questions the Georgian and Swiss students have jointly explored. By bringing together perspectives from different countries, the course and its associated blog create a space for knowledge exchange that extends beyond the seminar room. In addition to its academic focus, this collaboration required students to engage with current socio-political complexities. The parliamentary elections in Georgia in October 2024 brought an additional layer to this exchange, requiring a deeper level of intercultural understanding from GIUZ students. The course thus became an opportunity to not only analyze mountain sustainability but also navigate the broader political and societal contexts in which these challenges unfold.

Find here the full collection of student blog posts: www.mountainapp.net/blog

The joint course on Sustainable Mountain Development (GEO361) brings together students and lecturers from TSU and from GIUZ to foster dialogue on the environmental, economic, and social challenges affecting mountain regions. The course combines interactive teaching methods, including research-based learning or the use of MountainApp (MTA), which allows students to document and share landscape observations from their respective regions. Over the course of the semester, students investigated topics such as migration, sustainable tourism, nature conservation, and governance challenges through their own research projects and through different writing exercises, including collaborative blog posts to practice writing for a broad audience. The blog is a part of the course’s interactive approach, encouraging students to collaborate across borders.

Annina Michel, Space, Nature and Society

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How are mountain regions dealing with migration and climate change? A collaborative seminar at UZH and Tbilisi State University explores the challenges faced by both the Alps and the Caucasus region – with the help of a custom-developed app.
UZH News, 20.04.2023