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Studierende sitzt am Arbeitsplatz und schaut auf den Laptop. © Aliona Kardash​/​TU Dortmund

Sustainability Award of the Department of Computer Science

© Hans Decker
v.l. Alexander van der Staay, Rebecca Schmook, Brian-Frederik Jahnke
The Sustainability Award initiated by the department was presented at the Computer Science Alumni Day on November 21, 2025.

At the Computer Science Alumni Day on Friday, November 21, 2025, the Sustainability Award initiated by the Sustainability Commission of the Department of Computer Science was presented. As in the previous year, the jury decided to divide the submissions into two categories: "Completed projects" and "Ideas and projects in implementation". The idea was to promote innovative new projects in their development process as well as to honor completed projects and promote their further development.

Ideas and projects in the implementation phase

In the "Ideas and projects in implementation" category, Brian-Frederik Jahnke, Rebecca Schmook and Falk Howar received the award for their project GMB-ECC (system-wide energy benchmarking and optimization in the edge cloud continuum)

Justification: The GMB-ECC project impressed the jury above all with its particularly high impact. In initial tests, the energy requirements of the industrial logistics environment were reduced by 60%, making the overall system 12% more efficient. The project also impressed the jury with the resulting sustainability aspect of the responsible use of resources.

The project was also met with enthusiasm by the department, which expressed itself in comments such as the following: "The edge cloud continuum often includes 'hidden costs' (network infrastructure, data center, etc.) that are often not directly perceived by end users or programmers. A system that delivers measured values is extremely valuable here.", "Promising approach and relevant application scenario."

Completed projects

In the "Completed Projects" category, Alexander van der Staay, Dr. Raphael Fischer, Florian Hermann, Dr. Sebastian Buschjäger, Grigorii Iakovlev and Prof. Christian Janiesch received the award for their project Sustainable LLMs: Energy Efficient Language Models and Transparent Labeling

Justification: The Sustainable LLMs project impressed the jury above all with its innovative strength, particularly with regard to the labeling of LLMs. Especially now that artificial intelligence is becoming more and more part of our everyday lives, the project sets an important example for the development of energy-efficient LLMs and a research focus on sustainable AI solutions.

There are also numerous supportive voices from the department:
"I believe that in the future, LLMs will play a huge role in climate change because they will not go away but will have to become more sustainable."
"Energy demand of AI-supported applications chronically underestimated; project provides concrete and implementable solution proposals; in addition: transparency of AI is addressed."