Data Collection and Facilitation for Sustainable Lab Practices 2.0

Scientific research drives societal progress — but laboratories also come with a significant environmental cost. They consume up to ten times more energy per square meter than office spaces and generate around 2% of global plastic waste. Despite this footprint, researchers often lack clear standards or guidelines for reducing resource usage in labs. In response, several sustainability programs have been developed to provide structured tools and training for better monitoring and understanding of lab operations. 

General information

Duration 30 hours of workload
Expected Commitment: 
Participants should plan for a flexible commitment of approximately 25–30 hours between October and December, distributed as follows: 
  • Training & Onboarding (~5 hours). One scheduled session 23rd of September 2025 (Contingency date: 25th of September 2025) 
  • Lab Engagement & Data Handling (~20 hours). Flexible scheduling based on participant and lab availability. 
  • Reporting & Feedback (~1 hour). Submission of a short written summary (1 page). Deadline: 19th of December 2025, 18:00. 
In this course, your role will be to help us collect information on current laboratory practices at the University of Zurich. You will survey people responsible for equipment in different labs on topics such as waste management, cold storage, and equipment usage, as well as gather input on equipment and space sharing. This data will allow us to build a clearer picture of how resources are used across labs. 

Your role will include: 
  1. Training & Onboarding – Learn the basics of sustainability in the lab and how to collect meaningful, unbiased data. 
  2. Lab Engagement – Work with labs to gather information on waste management, cold storage, and equipment usage. 
  3. Data Handling – Enter and review collected data, ensuring quality and consistency, and flag anything that needs clarification. 
  4. Reporting & Feedback – Share your findings and reflections to help improve future implementation. 
Goals 
  • Deepen your understanding of sustainable practices in laboratory environments. 
  • Gain hands-on experience in data collection and handling in real lab settings. 
  • Develop transferable skills in stakeholder communication, coordination, and reporting. 
  • Contribute to building a clearer picture of lab resource usage at UZH. 

Course instructors: Nils Handler, Nicolás Harrington Ruiz, Daphne Rutnam, Rebecca Leber, Nadine Wolf, Enno Bockelmann
 
ECTS: 1.0 
PhD students of the Life Science Zurich Graduate School have priority. External students can register to the waiting list and will be accepted if the course is not fully booked. 

In case of questions, please contact Nils Handler (nils.handler@uzh.ch), Daphne Rutnam (daphne.rutnam@econ.uzh.ch ), or Enno Bockelmann (enno.bockelmann@uzh.ch)

Dates

Instructor Language Dates Available seats Venue
There are currently no open courses
Back to the overview