Making Sustainability a key component of all
our programmes.
Wim Vanderbauwhede, October
2022
World
leaders met to agree on actions to tackle the climate emergency at the 26th
United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). This is the global
context for the efforts to decarbonise universities. A concerted effort is
needed to decarbonise the curriculum because education about the climate
emergency is an essential component in tackling this crisis.
This
document outlines a proposal to make Decarbonising and Sustainability a core
component and principle of all programmes at the University of Glasgow,
starting with the College of Science and Engineering. This is entirely in line
with the University’s Learning & Teaching
Strategy 2021-25 which
states:
It
is important, therefore, that we
reposition and reshape our programmes in order that they:
·
Explicitly
position what we do in relation to real-world challenges, drawing on research
in the discipline, and connecting with the value-based commitments of the
University in relation to sustainability, civic engagement, global challenges
and the United Nations sustainable development goals.
Decarbonising our education system means transforming how and what we
learn so that education sufficiently addresses and prepares students for the
climate crisis and ecological emergency. That means our curricula must equip
students with the knowledge, skills, attributes, and values to tackle the
reformation of our currently carbon intense economic system. Furthermore, it
means thinking critically and challenging the influence of corporations like
fossil fuel companies in our research, funding, and sponsorship. SOS-UK, 2020
This definition fits with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 “Climate action”, in
particular Target 13.3:
Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional
capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early
warning.
In 1987, the United Nations
Brundtland Commission
defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Today,
there are almost 140 developing countries in the world seeking ways of meeting
their development needs, but with the increasing threat of climate change,
concrete efforts must be made to ensure development today does not negatively
affect future generations. (UN definition)
·
Sustainable
development has been defined as development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
·
Sustainable
development calls for concerted efforts towards building an inclusive,
sustainable and resilient future for people and planet.
·
For
sustainable development to be achieved, it is crucial to harmonize three core
elements: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. These
elements are interconnected and all are crucial for
the well-being of individuals and societies.
·
Eradicating
poverty in all its forms and dimensions is an indispensable requirement for
sustainable development. To this end, there must be promotion of sustainable,
inclusive and equitable economic growth, creating greater opportunities for
all, reducing inequalities, raising basic standards of living, fostering
equitable social development and inclusion, and promoting integrated and
sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems. (UN definition)
Education for Sustainable Development is
recognised as an integral element of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality
education and a key enabler of all other SDGs.
Students should
learn about the need for Decarbonisation, Sustainability and Sustainable
development, the reasons for the current crisis and the ways in which change
can be achieved.
Through the
curriculum, students should be equipped with knowledge, skills, attributes and
values to act in their personal and professional lives, spread awareness and
help create systemic solutions.
Decarbonisation,
Sustainability and Sustainable development topics might be implemented as
separate Honours-level and MSc-level courses but it would be preferred if current courses would incorporate these
topics as part of the Aims and ILOs.
The aim is to
make Sustainability a key part of each programme, either through dedicated
courses or by incorporating learning outcomes in existing courses.
I think we
can identify three types of subject-specific topics to be included in the
curriculum. Depending on the subjects, topics in the programmes will be a
mixture of these types.
1.
Drivers for action (D): How climate
change affects the world from the perspective of the student’s
profession/discipline.
2.
Awareness (A): Understanding of
subject-specific mechanisms that affect climate change.
3.
Actions to
reduce emissions or help to mitigate the effects of climate change (R):
Equip students to help effect reductions in emissions or mitigate the effects
of climate change in their professional life.
Below are
examples of questions that could be asked for these subject-specific topic. I
have focused on the College of Science & Engineering. This is meant to be a
starting point for discussion so I really welcome different examples.
· (R) How can we co-design software and hardware
for long life and repairability?
· (A) How can we make computing sustainable?
· (A) What are consequences of Moore’s law?
· (A) Life cycle awareness: what are the issues
with planned obsolescence?
· (R) How can we optimize energy consumption of
computational tasks?
·
(A) Life
cycle awareness
·
(R) Minimising
full-system energy consumption
·
(R) Design
for long life and repairability
·
(A) Which
industrial chemical processes are responsible for GHG emissions? Which
agricultural ones?
·
(R) How
can chemistry help to reduce emissions?
·
(A) Which
chemical processes are involved in global warming, e.g. in
the atmosphere, oceans, soil?
· (A) What role does physics play in climate
modelling? Fluid dynamics, mechanics, etc
· (A) Which industrial or agricultural physical processes
are responsible for GHG emissions?
· (A) What are the mathematical foundations of
climate models?
· (A,R) What role do
statistics play in the prediction, assessment and mitigation of climate change,
e.g. uncertainty on data and predictions.
· (A,R) What role has
urban planning and zoning played in climate change, and how can they help to
mitigate the effects?
· (A,D) What are the climate
change-related issues of continued prospecting for fossil fuels?
· (A,R) How can the
know-how and technology acquired for the extraction of fossil fuels help reduce
emissions and/or mitigate the effects of climate change
· (R) What changes are needed to our coastal
defences?
· (A,D) What is the
expected effect of climate change on environmental degradation?
·
(A,D) Which psychological factors (group or individual)
exacerbate climate change?
·
(D,R) What kinds of psychological effects is climate change
likely to have? What can we do about this?
I
would propose the following approach to realizing the goal of making
Sustainability a key component of all our programmes:
·
Adopt
“Decarbonising Education” as a University-wide goal.
This fits well with the University’s Strategy 2025, in particular the challenge
“Building a sustainable future through our research and actions: Responding to
the climate emergency challenge”, and specifically with the Learning and
Teaching Strategy, as mentioned above.
Status:
the project is sponsored by the VP for Learning and Teaching
· Provide leadership and guidance for course
coordinators and programme directors. My proposal is that in every School there
is a Sustainability Subject Advisor to advise on defining a set of subject
specific Aims and Learning Outcomes and the best way to incorporate these in
the existing programmes, in discussion with students, course coordinators and
year heads. I think it is crucial that this task is recognised in the work load model.
Status:
this role is now an official role in all Schools in the College of Science and
Engineering.
· The School Sustainability Subject Expert will
lead a Working group at School level and form a College Working group or
otherwise participate in College-level events to share
information, ideas and best practice.
Status:
working group at School level is ad-hoc for the pilot programme selected.
· It is essential to involve the students in this
process. My proposal is to have a Sustainability student rep per School and one
at College LTC and in the University LTC.
Status:
as currently there is only one programme per School, the student is a volunteer
from this cohort. At this stage, there is no dedicated Sustainability rep yet
at College or University level.
•
University Community
of Practice on Sustainability in Learning and Teaching