Sustainable Curriculum at the Student Education Conference
This year’s University of Leeds Student Education Conference highlighted the University’s commitment to delivering Education for Sustainable Development, with sessions focused around our Sustainable Curriculum programme.
Providing a Sustainable Curriculum is one of the seven principles of the University’s Climate Plan. It aims to give students at all levels the opportunity to study, research, work and participate in sustainability and climate issues as part of their degree.
The Student Education Conference brings together educators, researchers, and students to explore innovative approaches to learning and teaching.
Embedding a Transformative Vision of Sustainability in Student Education
On the first day of the conference, Thom Cooper (Head of the Sustainability Service), William Young (Chair of Sustainability and Business) and Anne Tallontire (Professor of Sustainability and Business) delivered a session titled 'Embedding a Transformative Vision of Sustainability in Student Education.'
This focused upon a Leeds Institute of Teaching Excellence (LITE) fellowship to research approaches to embedding sustainability within teaching, review internal and external higher education examples, and share insight on different models. The session was chaired by Clare Jackson (Sustainable Curriculum Project Manager).
Sustainable Futures Discovery Modules
In a Discovery Module workshop, one of our Student Sustainability Architects, Charles Pullman, helped to facilitate a discussed on the integration of sustainability as a core thread in the future development of the university's Discovery and Explore elective offer, capturing creative ideas from staff and students. Sustainability is already represented in the university’s Creating Sustainable Futures Discovery Modules and will be a core thread in the new offer.
Community Engaged Learning
The second day of the conference featured a workshop titled 'Sharing and learning from insights on community-engaged learning'. This connected with the Sustainability Service's social impact strand, which contributes towards the Net Zero City principle of the Climate Plan.
Community Engaged Learning is an experiential approach to learning that brings together students and the wider community to tackle real world challenges. The workshop highlighted the importance of community engagement in fostering sustainable practices.
Leeds University Network for Sustainability in Higher Education
The Leeds University Network for Sustainability in Higher Education (LUNSHE) community plays a critical role in advancing the university's sustainable curriculum. Monthly meetings bring together educators and service staff to share and discuss different approaches to embedding sustainability in teaching and student opportunities. A poster display session shared more information on the network, which has grown significantly over the last year with over 100 members.
Educators interested in finding out more about our Sustainable Curriculum are encouraged to join the LUNSHE network, which holds monthly network meetings.
Sign up here: https://forms.office.com/e/kC2btCjbfJ
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. Our work on Sustainable Curriculum is linked to all of the SDGs, including:
- Goal 4: Quality Education
- Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Find out more about our impact on the SDGs.
