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Sustainability in the Classroom
UCL has the opportunity and responsibility to solve sustainability challenges through teaching and research. Help us provide every student with the opportunity to study sustainability by 2024.
19 November 2022
Extensive work is currently underway to create resources and activities to support academic staff across UCL to develop their practice in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). These will consist of a toolkit, workshops, a MOOC, ESD Leads, curriculum mapping, training and more.
ESD is defined by UNESCO (2021) as:
The process of equipping students with the knowledge and understanding, skills and attributes needed to work and live in a way that safeguards environmental, social and economic wellbeing, in the present and for future generations.”
7 steps to embed sustainability into your curriculum
- 1. View UCL's ESD teaching toolkit
This toolkit aims to support staff from all faculties and disciplines to develop educational experiences that empower and enable UCL students to become leaders and activators in the global transition.
> Toolkit
- 2. Join UCL's Sustainable Education Network
The UCL ESD Steering Group has set up a Network for academics working on embedding sustainability into the curriculum, to support each other and to share resources.
- 3. Induct students on Sustainability
We have developed a robust welcome induction to enable students to think about environmental and social sustainability topics that relate to their area of study. Share this with your students.
- 4. Support and encourage Extra-curricular Activities for your students
Encourage students to explore opportunities to learn more about sustainability outside the classroom by directing them to the Students' Union's Student Sustainability Hub
- 5. Encourage a Living Lab Project
The UCL Living Lab is the opportunity for students and staff to solve UCL’s sustainability challenges through research, teaching, dissertations and projects.
- 6. Take UCL's Free Online ESD Course
Created by UCL IOE researchers, and funded by Sustainable UCL, this free online short course provides educators with an introduction to key ideas and practices related to education, learning and sustainable development, including issues such as climate change.
It runs over 3 weeks. It should take approximately 3 hours per week to complete the activities. It is open for enrolment on-demand at any time.
Through online discussions and activities, you can engage with diverse perspectives and practices from around the world and also explore current international policy.
The course is intended for both educators in higher education as well as teachers in schools, so that participants can talk to one another about their practice and share ideas with peers about how education for sustainable development might link across various levels of education. Participants will also have an opportunity to reflect on how their learning from the course can be applied to their practice.
- 7. Apply for an Award
The UCL Sustainability Awards is an annual event which celebrates the achievements of staff and students across UCL who have made a contribution to UCL's Sustainability agenda including ESD.
