Second year of SAVES 2 at University of Bucharest
SAVES 2 has restarted again, with new students and the same enthusiasm for intelligent energy saving, both in dormitories, and for the first time in Romania, for students living in private accommodation. The team leading the project at University of Bucharest (UoB), has already selected the Student Switch Off ambassadors for the year – some of them were involved last year, some of them are new to the campaign. At an institutional level, there has been a huge difference in the promotion of the project objectives compared with the previous year, as a result of the involvement of the students’ associations in attracting new students to support the campaign. In addition, the second year of project implementation brings a new and important challenge: the expansion of the campaign to students living in private accommodation from other universities in Romania. Therefore, the information included in regular newsletters to UoB students, will be spread nationally and the impact on students will be higher not only from a quantitative point of view, but also because it is relevant to many students.
SAVES 2 is a wonderful learning tool for learning how to save energy. It involves two awareness raising campaigns, few questionnaires, and a number of Facebook competitions. Sharing is what makes all participants, no matter their age or background, a dedicated community interested in energy saving. Peer to peer learning, and word of mouth has proved to be really efficient for finding more students to get involved in the campaigns and attracting students to become active in competitions.
SAVES 2 is a great opportunity for the university to reconnect with businesses that share the same energy saving objectives in different aspects of their activity. Companies are invited to appreciate the students’ efforts and to provide attractive prices for the winners. In this way, surprises which have always been wanted and expected, are part of the rewarding process of our students.
The team at UoB has put a lot of time and energy towards making SAVES 2 a success and it has been really rewarding to get positive results. The more students learn about energy efficiency, the more effective the project becomes. Enthusiasm is key to keeping committed students together. We are happy to work with colleagues from other countries, to exchanges strengths and weaknesses that we all encounter, to improve the way we do things for the project better off. A great thing which continues is that there are never good or wrong answers from students, there is only learning! Let’s grow our community and learn, play and save energy together!
