04.04.2023 08:29
Colorful science
Employees of the IU International University (IU) make March a fitness challenge and donate 100 bicycles to developing countries.
– Sweating for a good cause: As part of a fitness challenge, IU employees circled the world the equivalent of almost nine times, collecting 345,357 kilometers.
– For each trip around the world, IU donates ten bicycles to developing countries to give people in rural areas more mobility and better access to education.
– A heart project that took place for the second time: for sustainable development and community cohesion.
“For each other, with each other – together around the world” was the motto of the internal fitness challenge of the IU International University (IU) again this year. In March 2023, the employees of Germany’s largest university circled the world almost nine times – and confirmed their goal from the previous year. More than 100 IU teams collected kilometers through sporting activities, tracked them in an app and together covered 345,357 kilometers for a good cause: IU donated ten bicycles to the aid organization World Bicycle Relief (WBR) for each trip around the world. The IU rounds up the 90 bicycles thus reached to 100 again.
“We are proud that so many colleagues took part in our fitness challenge, even more than last year. We repeated the campaign this year because it’s a great opportunity to strengthen the team spirit, to do something good for your own well-being – physically and mentally – and to get closer to our big IU vision together with small steps: people to provide access to education worldwide. With the bicycles from World Bicycle Relief, we are making a contribution to this with one of many initiatives,” explains Tim Kaltenborn Director People Organization & Culture at the IU International University.
Sustainability is one of the most important pillars at IU
IU is increasingly committed to sustainable development on an economic, social and ecological level and is guided by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. With the fundraiser, IU supports people in rural developing regions. Thanks to the provision of bicycles by WBR, local people are becoming more mobile, independent and financially independent. For girls and women in particular, access to education, good health care and professional self-determination is often difficult due to cultural norms. Therefore, according to the WBR, 70 percent of the bicycles are handed over to female recipients in order to counteract their disadvantage. Rural development regions often have only rudimentary or no transport infrastructure. The bicycle is a reliable, inexpensive and resource-saving means of shortening the often very long ways to school, work and shopping.
Focus on team spirit and employee health
1,270 employees across all IU locations and departments came together in teams to take part in the challenge and do something good for themselves and their fellow human beings. With the help of the “TeamFit” fitness app, all sports activities were recorded and converted into kilometers. Every form of exercise counted, such as the way to work by bike, a long walk, the short home workout in between, yoga and mindfulness exercises, house cleaning and much more, so that there was something for every comrade-in-arms. In changing theme weeks, they received useful tips and exercises, for example for a more relaxed everyday life, a healthy diet and a more sustainable lifestyle.
“Sustainability and social responsibility naturally start in the company itself. With campaigns like these, we try to raise awareness within IU and support our employees as well as our students in their personal growth,” says Kaltenborn.
More information about World Bicycle Relief at:
More information on sustainability at IU at:
ABOUT THE IU INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
With over 100,000 students, the IU Internationale Hochschule (IU) is the largest university in Germany. The private, state-approved educational institution with its headquarters in Erfurt brings together more than 200 bachelor’s and master’s programs under one roof, which are offered in German or English. Students can choose between dual studies, distance learning and myStudium, which combines online and face-to-face events, and design their studies independently with the help of a digitally supported learning environment. In addition, the IU enables further training and promotes the idea of lifelong learning. The aim of the university is to give as many people as possible worldwide access to personalized education. IU started operations in 2000 and is now represented in more than 30 German cities. It cooperates with over 15,000 companies and actively supports them in the development of their employees. The partners include Motel One, VW Financial Services and Deutsche Bahn. More information at: https://www.iu.de.
PRESS CONTACT
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Additional Information:
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