Open Access

This paper summarises the experiences with sustainability reporting in a very wide meaning at Universities of Applied Sciences (UoAS). It focuses on the communication of sustainability aspects and activities of universities. It provides a recommendation, a model for communicating the sustainability activities of universities and emphasises the values of this appraoch. This paper aims to find the most effective ways to convey education for sustainable development to a broad public and initiate communication about sustainability aspects with society. The paper is based on action research done at two universities about the ways in which academic institutions can communicate with their stakeholders in order to report about their own role as a responsible university and also to make an impact on the sustainable development on a local and global scale. Research is focussed on experiences at Universitites of Applied Sciences with their strong focus on applied research, education and transfer. However, these results can be helpful for each academic institution that wants to make a positive impact on society. The concept which we present focusses on the possible impact which universities can generate. Seen as the contribution to the research field of sustainabitliy reporting the paper points out that a continuous qualitative reporting process with a focus on education for SD is an adequate and efficient approach to sustainability reporting for universities and an effective way to reach a broad public. We show that there are several efficient methodss of communication ranging from the traditional sustainability report to publications which address the public and to more innovative methods using the web 2.0. We show and argue that for universities, alternative ways of sustainability communication may be more effective to achieve the sustainability mission. The concept which we present gives the universities a broader impact on society and helps them to support sustainable development in an efficient way.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the current state of fashion business academic education worldwide. This is motivated by the wish to develop recommendations for the fashion business bachelor program of Reutlingen Uni versity. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on a systematic review of relevant fashion business academic programs. A qualitative comparison is conducted through a categorization of the programs’ content and a score system evaluating the programs’ concepts. Findings: Key findings were that several factors ensure successful fashion business education: Industry connections, international networks, project-based work, personalized career services and innovative approaches in teaching that include all steps along the fashion value chain. Research limitations/implications: The research was primarily limited due to the limited number of schools assessed. As a result of the restricted time frame, those schools that were presented could only be analyzed regarding a few aspects. Future research should focus on a more in-depth analysis and further-reaching comparisons, e.g. comparisons with teaching concepts outside the fashion business area or with requirements by fashion companies.

Usually battery chargers have two stages and DC charging current is considered to by necessary for a proper charging. To decrease the charger volume, a single stage LLC battery charger is investigated in this paper. PFC stage is eliminated, therefore no bulky capacitor is necessary any more, and battery is charged with a sinusoidal-like charging current. However, previous studies show that such a pulsating charging current has only minimal impact on battery life and efficiency. Design considerations of the resonant tank and optimal transformer design are presented. A 360W single stage LLC converter prototype for e-bike charger achieves a power factor of 0.98, efficiency of 0.93 and power density of 1,8kW/dm³.