Is sustainable travel for Exchange students possible? LMU’s Green Travel contest and student experiences

By Elisa Zuliani

Tackling the environmental challenges of international travel during Erasmus is not easy, but initiatives such as the Green Travel Contest at Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich prove that sustainable travel is possible. Launched in autumn 2024, the contest invited students to choose low-carbon means of transport, such as trains, buses or carpooling, instead of traditional air travel. Participants documented their green journeys, sharing strategies to reconcile sustainability, costs and travel time, with the top three winners receiving cash prizes to offset their transport costs.

One of the winners, Fleur Lendemar from Sweden, shared how she embraced the challenge: “I knew it would be an interesting experience. There are often discounted tickets for students, so I could stay within my budget, and the prize money from the competition was an added incentive.” Despite moments of stress from travelling alone with heavy luggage, she highlighted the unexpected benefits of sustainable travel: “I met friendly people along the way and saw beautiful landscapes.” Environmental impact, cost savings and the opportunity to participate in the competition guided her choices. Travelling sustainably also created unique social opportunities: “Because it takes longer, you have more opportunities to talk to other travellers. I met a German girl on the train to Munich who gave me lots of tips on what to do in the city.”

Not all participants won the competition. A student from the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano shared her experience: “I didn’t win, but my university still offered a 50€ refund to anyone choosing sustainable transport to reach their Erasmus destination.” The initiative, part of a broader programme to promote sustainable mobility, demonstrates the growing commitment of academic institutions in this direction. “These projects are essential to promote a cultural change towards more conscious mobility,” commented one of the organisers.

The students’ experiences highlight both the benefits and difficulties of sustainable travel. However, Fleur believes that changes are needed to encourage conscious choices on a larger scale: “In Sweden, there are a lot of problems with delayed and expensive trains, which discourages many from preferring this option to flying.”

Her advice for those who fear logistical or financial difficulties is clear: “Try to be creative. You can combine different types of transport: I travelled by bus, carpool and train. If the train is too expensive, maybe there is a bus on the same route.”

To further promote these behaviours, she suggests that universities should continue to organise similar initiatives, actively promoting them on social media and experimenting with group competitions to encourage students to travel together. Although her university did not have specific programmes, the Erasmus+ program offered the possibility of winning a financial prize. “If my university organised a similar competition, I believe more students would choose to travel sustainably.”

The success of the Green Travel contest demonstrates how academic institutions can play a key role in promoting sustainable practices among international students, inspiring new travel habits and enhancing students’ environmental awareness, providing them with valuable opportunities for personal growth and socialisation.