Recently we elected Alexander Degenhardt as our new president at oikos. In this blog post, we will ask several questions to our new president, to introduce him to the community and for everyone to get to know him better.
1. What motivated you to become the new President of oikos?
Two reasons:
· Personally, I find it very important that everybody does their part to clean up our environment and make the looming climate crisis our children will undoubtedly face less apocalyptic. This role is an opportunity for me to act.
· The people of oikos. Although I was totally external before, my girlfriend (an oikee) always told me about the community & culture. That’s something I want to be a part of and help make even better.
2. What does sustainability mean to you?
Ensuring that future generations can enjoy our earth as much as past generations have. Concretely this means a change in thinking and direct climate action. We can find solutions to our problems, but the clock is ticking.
3. What culture and mindsets would you like to foster in the oikos community?
I really enjoy the social, easygoing, and no-blame culture of oikos. I would, however, like to add a tad of professionalism, and appetite for bigger thinking to our culture. Just because we’re students doesn’t mean we can’t achieve amazingly sustainable things. Fostering a good & professional community will also enable our members to transition into the professional world, and really make the most of their oikos experience from a professional development perspective.
4. What is your vision and what are your goals for oikos in the future?
oikos must constantly innovate to stay relevant. Both on and off campus. I’d like to take both inspiration from oikos’ storied past and look towards the needs of the future. For example: in 2035 we’ll have 1 million more inhabitants in Switzerland. At the same time, we’ll be shutting off our Co2 neutral Nuclear Power Stations which account for 25% of our electricity production. Because of this, in 10 years, we’ll have a gigantic rift of over 50 terrawatt-hours that’ll be missing. oikos St. Gallen could use part of its resources to build alpine solar panels and power a small city.
Lastly, we would also like to thank Sandro for all his hard and dedicated work over the last year as the previous president of oikos! Now, we look forward to seeing what the future holds and are happy to warmly welcome you at oikos, Alexander!
Walsh, A. (2022, 14. November). The 5 ESG and sustainability questions you need to answer. https://www.kornferry.com/insights/featured-topics/people-planet-profit/5-esg-and-sustainability-questions-you-need-to-answer