One more cone of ice-cream, one more dip in the lake, one more picnic in the mountain - soaking up the last bit of summer sun, we are gearing up for our fall initiatives. While we concluded the oikos Young Scholars Entrepreneurship Academy a few days ago, two more Academies are just around the corner. Also, coming up are the registration deadlines for the oikos FutureLab and oikos Winter School. In this issue, learn more about oikos Pune’s ingenious project, “i-GREEN”, join the international oikos Fashion team or spend 30 seconds with Juraj Melichár alumnus from oikos Bratislava.
oikos Students
FutureLab 2013 “Transforming Education”: Register Now
Have you heard of the CROS in Romania, the Knowmads in the Netherlands or the TeamLabs in Spain? How about the 50plus20 initiative or Impact HUB with its locations all over the world? At the FutureLab 2013, we will get to know the visionaries of these initiatives and learn from their experience. This is your chance to get inspired and develop your own actions to transform education. We would like to have the most active members, alumni, faculty and advisors with us at the FutureLab (11 – 12 November, 2013). Register by 15 September!
oikos Winter School: Early Bird Applications
Green economy or post-growth society? How can economies and businesses shift towards a more sustainable future? The oikos Witten/Herdecke team has prepared a list of literature to guide you and give you a glimpse of the topic for next year’s 10th oikos Winter School. Get inspired and do not miss the early bird application which closes on 30th of September.
Impact of oikos Pune The oikos Pune “i-GREEN” project has come up with a win-win solution - addressing the water pollution problem in the region by converting pollutants (wasted flowers) into compost (useful product). Moreover, the compost produced through this process can replace chemical fertilizers, which are often used in agriculture and cause severe damages.
oikos Fashion Is Recruiting! Are you interested in promoting sustainable fashion industry practices and do you want to create and manage an innovative international project in oikos? We are looking for new team members with project management skills and interest in sustainable textile & apparel for the organization of our next open online course. Open positions include: fundraising, PR and operations manager. For more information please contact the oikos International Executive Board member Nora Locskai: nora.locskai@oikos-international.orgor send us a facebook message!
oikos Alumni
oikos Alumni Debates – Register now!
19 September 2013 – 6pm
LGT Venture Philanthropy - Zurich, Switzerland Don’t miss the opportunity to reconnect with oikos and join three alumni - Christian Busch (Growth and Competition Policy, Economic Policy Department, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs), Irmi Seidl (Head of Economics and Social Sciences Unit, Swiss Federal Research Institute), and Jan Amrit Poser (Head of Asset Management and Sustainability, Bank J. Safra Sarasin) as they discuss their views on economic growth and sustainability. Expect a lively debate on growth and sustainability. If you have any questions, please email adriana.troxler@oikos-international.org.
oikos Alumni in Warsaw 14 September - 7:30pm
Znośna Lekkość Bytu – Warsaw, Poland
Join the oikos Alumni for a dinner evening to remember in Warsaw. The event will start at 7.30 pm at the "Znośna Lekkość Bytu" (Address: Lubelska 30/32, Warsaw, Poland). For more information, please contact Kate Negacz (kate.negacz@oikosinternational.org) or Dominika Czyż (czyz.dominika@gmail.com).
LinkedIn for Alumni Our alumni can now keep in touch with us through LinkedIn.
oikos Academic
Call for Cases – oikos Case Writing Competition 2014
The oikos Case Writing Competition promotes the creation of high quality teaching cases on Corporate Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship. Submitted case studies should be suitable for use in management education and should be related to managerial issues faced by organizations and individuals. Deadline: 11 November, 2013.
30 seconds with...
Juraj Melichár My first contact with oikos was in 2006 when I helped organize a Fair Trade Day at the University of Economics in Bratislava. My oikos Bratislava presidency started in 2009 and lasted more than two years. One of the most valuable assets was having at least two postgraduate students in our oikos team. Besides educational events, we actively worked on projects with practical impact. When we realized that the university could save thousands of euros by recycling waste, we applied for a grant to buy paper and plastic waste bins so that students could separate waste themselves. To decrease the amount of waste itself, we initiated another project that focused on building drinking fountains funded through the sale of long-lasting metal bottles. This initiative reduced the purchase of bottled drinks. Apart from these activities we actively promoted sustainable lifestyle through weekly oikos events, websites and social media. I also started a blog about sustainable lifestyle, where I post about environmental and ecological economy issues.
After graduation, I became an oikos advisor and started working for Friends of the Earth – CEPA on projects focused on sustainable public expenditure and on energy self-sufficiency. Our goal is to enable communities to use their own renewable energy sources, lower their energy bills, and help mitigate climate change.
I also coordinate a community composting project in Bratislava. Composting is a natural way to make quality fertilizer from waste. I see this as a way of applying ecological economics and supporting food sovereignty with urban gardening. Our project promotes participatory budgeting, which is a tool to encourage people to participate in decision-making processes and improve their environment. As an oikos advisor, I try to involve oikos members in NGO activities and municipal projects. I believe it is a great learning experience that will help them to stay involved and continue working on sustainable local projects after their graduation.
Outlook
2 - 6 September: oikos UNDP Young Scholars Development Academy, Istanbul, Turkey
On “Organising and Governing Inclusive Business Models”
12 - 13 September: oikos PhD Seminar, Warsaw, Poland On “Energy and Environmental Economics”
12 –15 September: Sustainable Energy for Europe Conference in Warsaw, Poland
14 September: Alumni dinner in Warsaw
15 – 19 September: oikos Young Scholars Economics Academy, Filzbach, Switzerland On “Global Financial Inclusion”
19 September: Alumni Debates in Zurich On Growth and Sustainability
8 - 10 November: Chapter Presidents Meeting in St. Gallen, Switzerland & 11 - 12 November: oikos FutureLab 2013 in St. Gallen, Switzerland
21 February – 2 March: oikos Winter School
Contribute
Let people know what you are up to and submit your oikos News for the next newsletter to: update@oikosinternational.org
Meet oikos
Tim Lehmann, oikos PhD Fellow, 2 - 6 September, oikos UNDP Young Scholars Development Academy, Istanbul, Turkey
Have you heard of the 
Green economy or post-growth society? How can economies and businesses shift towards a more sustainable future? The oikos Witten/Herdecke team has prepared a 
The oikos Pune “i-GREEN” project has come up with a win-win solution - addressing the water pollution problem in the region by converting pollutants (wasted flowers) into compost (useful product). Moreover, the compost produced through this process can replace chemical fertilizers, which are often used in agriculture and cause severe damages.
Don’t miss the opportunity to reconnect with oikos and join three alumni - 
Our alumni can now keep in touch with us through LinkedIn. 
My first contact with oikos was in 2006 when I helped organize a Fair Trade Day at the University of Economics in Bratislava. My oikos Bratislava presidency started in 2009 and lasted more than two years. One of the most valuable assets was having at least two postgraduate students in our oikos team. Besides educational events, we actively worked on projects with practical impact. When we realized that the university could save thousands of euros by recycling waste, we applied for a grant to buy paper and plastic waste bins so that students could separate waste themselves. To decrease the amount of waste itself, we initiated another project that focused on building drinking fountains funded through the sale of long-lasting metal bottles. This initiative reduced the purchase of bottled drinks. Apart from these activities we actively promoted sustainable lifestyle 