EcoN’UM: Montpellier University mobilizes for more responsible digital technology
From March 4 to 11, the first edition of EcoN'UM took place, a week dedicated to raising awareness about the environmental footprint of digital technology at the University of Montpellier.
Throughout the week, students and staff were able to participate in several events aimed at better understanding the environmental challenges of digital technology. Highlights included activities organized by La Fresque du Numérique to explain the global impact of digital technology, and a conference on artificial intelligence and ecological transition given by Michel Robert, director of CINES. Finally, to get all staff involved in a fun way, there was an "inbox cleanup" challenge organized by the IT and Digital Services Department (DSIN). The goal was to free up as much space as possible in their email accounts.
The challenge attracted more than 1,200 participants, representing over 8% of the total number of people with a UM email account. It freed up 1 TB of the 44 TB currently used by staff email accounts. The three winners freed up as much as 90% of their email space and were notified of their victory.
In addition to these actions, the DSIN offered personalized assistance to help users clean up their email inboxes over the course of a day and provided various educational resources to explore the topic in greater depth, including podcasts, videos, and infographics available online on the University's website. These resources remain available on the Responsible Digital Technology page to encourage more sustainable practices and provide the community with a platform for reliable information on the ecological and responsible challenges of digital technology.