The core vision of this project is dedicated to confronting the prevailing culture of despair and apathy, which we argue is fueled by the dominance of dystopian and apocalyptic narratives in modern media. Recognizing that our current reality dangerously mirrors the warnings of cyberpunk, we contend that while addressing violence and injustice is essential, it cannot come at the cost of our capacity for hope. The Solarpunk movement offers a powerful counter-cultural force, spanning speculative fiction, art, and activism, specifically dedicated to defining and pursuing a sustainable, equitable civilization for our generation.

Solarpunk is built on two inseparable pillars: Solar, which champions renewable energy and decentralized solutions as the exit from ecocide; and Punk, which embodies the rebellious spirit against the perceived logic of ‘no alternative.’ This ethos inspires transformative change by blending technology with nature to transcend extractivism and hierarchy, energizing struggles for social justice and planetary health. The Solarpunk Manifesto podcast serves as our dedicated platform for this vision, acting as a creative arena where leading thinkers collectively speculate on desired futures, providing tangible scenarios and practical inspiration for listeners to apply their ingenuity in service of their communities and the environment.

This presentation addressed the critical challenge of translating radical theoretical concepts—such as decolonization, anti-reductionism, and equity—from critical theory into tangible action within scientific research and university classrooms. We argued that the endless list of ‘-isms’ and critical frameworks designed to rethink scientific praxis often fail to gain momentum in labs and curricula, leaving scientists burdened by historical methods of Anthropocentrism, Extractivism, and Technosolutionism. Our core focus was determining how to bridge this gap, ensuring that blueprints for better epistemologies move beyond buzzwords and into a transformative, actionable practice.

We proposed Solarpunk as the essential, “unforgiving engine” to power this translation. Solarpunk’s philosophy, rooted in the radical reclamation of hope and a stern denunciation of post-apocalyptic narratives, provides both the ethos (sustainability and social justice) and the logos (practical, science-based solutions) for a new framework of knowledge production. By employing speculative design methods, we provided the STARTS audience with a clear set of instruments and strategies, grounded in Buckminster Fuller’s principle of rendering the existing model obsolete, that researchers and educators can immediately employ in their daily practice to build a more equitable and harmonious relationship between technology and nature.

This presentation, delivered at the Biodesign Symposium, explores a critical gap in traditional engineering education: the failure to inspire students toward fields like biodesign, often overshadowed by the high-profile cultural narratives of endeavors like space exploration. We argued that the slow societal acceptance of biotechnology is not merely a technical issue, but stems from a lack of compelling visions for a positive, bio-integrated future, such as those found in solarpunk, biopunk, and ecopunk genres. To address this, our project advocated for a pedagogical shift that moves beyond the transmission of facts, intentionally creating space for engineering students to reflect on their values, emotions, and aspirations related to our collective future.

Our work introduced and evaluated three specific methodologies: Scenario-Building, Alter-Ego Narration, and Backcasting. It was tested with 85 undergraduate engineering students at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. We demonstrated how engaging students in these speculative worldbuilding exercises encourages them to think holistically, linking technical problem-solving to social and environmental dimensions. By focusing on Futures Literacy (Green Competence 3.1), this strategy nurtures the essential skills of active hope and agency required to “grow” a new generation of biodesigners ready to lead the sustainable transition.

We also organized the successful conference, ‘How to grow a biodesigner?’, which served as a vital meeting point for the biodesign community. This event was specifically curated to emphasize the field’s fundamental link to constructing alternative imaginaries of the future. Recognizing that biodesign acts as a potent tool for societal transition, the conference highlighted the need to move beyond mere technical innovation and embrace radical, hopeful visions that accelerate the shift toward bio-integrated worlds. To deepen this commitment to futures-thinking and radical hope, the entire second season of our Solarpunk Manifesto podcast is dedicated exclusively to exploring Solarpunk, using it as the critical framework for realizing these urgently needed, positive bio-futures.