Create Sustain Ability14 May 2010

ESD and the Academy

Heather Luna

Project Coordinator

Higher Education Academy

ESD Project

Outline

• Context and challenge• Background to HEA ESD Project• Current and future programme

HEFCE’S sustainable development ambition

‘Our vision is that within the next ten

years, the higher education sector

will be recognised as a major

contributor to society’s efforts to

achieve sustainability – through the skills

and knowledge that its graduates learn...,

its research and exchange of knowledge...,

community and public policy engagement,

and through its own strategies and operations.’

- Sustainable Development in Higher Education

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2009/09

HEFCE

• We ask the Academy to consider how it can support the implementation of our Sustainable Development Strategy and Action Plan (HEFCE 2009/03).• We would like the Academy to recognise Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as a cross cutting priority and to continue to proactively encourage and support ESD through the ESD Project group and Subject Centre networks.• We welcome the Academy’s intention to set up a small group to advise on ESD activities and ask that the Academy works with sector bodies, such as the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges, to support ESD.• We would like the Academy to continue with the development and publication of a sustainability policy for its own operations.

Scottish Funding Council

Sustainable development – We look to the Academy to work with us in delivering our sustainable development strategy for Scotland’s HEIs, and to support institutions in the development of appropriate knowledge, skills and attributes among learners.

HEFCW

We invite you to facilitate institutions in their curriculum design to take account of emerging and ongoing priorities, as appropriate.

In this context we would like you to continue to facilitate the sector in delivering the priority and supplementary actions set out in the Welsh Assembly Government’s document: Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) - a Strategy for Action, as identified in the 2008/09 grant letter.

This includes exploring the potential for extending the Academy’s student volunteering awards to Wales, as part of the global citizenship agenda.

A growing movement...

• UN Decade for ESD (2005-15)• DIUS Sustainable Development Action Plan• HEFCE’s Strategic Review of SD in HE and SD Action Plan (2009)• HEFCE’s Carbon Reduction Target and Strategy for HE (2010)• HEFCW Corporate Strategy and Plan • HE Academy ESD Project - recognised as a priority • Sustainability CETLs and a growing number of leader HEIs• People and Planet ‘Green League’• Future Leaders Survey• Green Gown Awards• Rise of Regional Centres of Expertise• Universities UK SD Group and Statement of Intent• Academy/SFC review of sustainability in the Scottish HEI sector• ESDGC curriculum audit of HEIs in Wales

Some challenges for the ‘sustainable university’, how to...

• bring together and reconcile agendas coherently: eg.employment, internationalisation, enterprise and sustainability

• spearhead sustainable development regionally with stakeholders, and support healthy and sustainable economies and communities

• model sustainability on campus, procurement, food and resource use etc

• anticipate social, economic and ecological change, particularly related to climate change

• ensure ‘sustainability literacy’ of staff and students

• get all this to be a central part of the HEI’s culture

HE Academy Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Project

Purpose: ‘to help institutions and subject communities develop curricula and pedagogy that will give students the skills and knowledge to live and work sustainably.’

The Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Project

• Began early 2005 with support of Forum for the Future, as special theme within Academy’s programme

• First stage: audit of subject communities carried out by 18 of the 24 Subject Centres

• Culminated in the “Dawe Report”, available from website: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/esd

HE Academy ESD (Project)

Aims1 ‘To research and support the development of ESD in

the HE sector, particularly within subject communities’.

2 ‘To build capacity internally and amongst individuals, subject communities and institutions to embed ESD in curricula and pedagogy’.

3 ‘To assist the coordination and dissemination of policy, research and practice relating to ESD in institutions, the HEA and the wider field’.

Work in 2009-10

• Publish Earthscan book on contribution of disciplines to ESD (in collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Futures)

SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION

Perspectives and practice

across higher education

Stimulating new thinking

Work in 2009-10

• Internal briefing on ESD for Academy and briefing event• Two single institutional strategy and change events in

Scotland (QMU and Edinburgh)• Workshop at HE Academy conference in 2010• Green Gown Awards judging• ESDGC HE Network in Wales (coordination of meetings)

Sustainability in Higher Education Developers (SHED) Networks

‘SHED-Share’Run by Academy ESD in collaboration with the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC)

SHED-Share: information, announcements, queries, with the potential to develop discussions, joint proposals etc

Communication

• Bi-monthly e-Newsletter • Weekly e-Bulletin• Academy ESD website• Sustainability in HE Developers network

(SHED)

The Academy ESD Website http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/esd

• Our strategy• Publications• Latest news on ESD in the HE sector• Information on all of our projects• Regional networking lists for the South West, Scotland and

Wales• ESD events, past (including presentations) and future• Links to disciplinary-specific ESD resources via Subject Centres• Bi-monthly e-Newsletter (sign up on the site)• Links to relevant policy documents/web pages and partners

Plan of Work 2010-2011 (highlights)

• Student engagement research• Student engagement event• Produce a Learning and Teaching Framework for ESD• Two single institutional strategy and change events in Scotland• Coordination of Sustainability in Higher Education Developers

(SHED ) network (with EAUC)• Fund seven small curriculum development grants around

interdisciplinarity• Subject Centre interdisciplinary research grants

Interdisciplinarity Grants

• Real-World Learning for Sustainable Environmental Management Dr Ros Taylor, Kingston University

• Sustainability: Past, Present and Future Ingrid Mainland, UHI Millennium Institute

• Problem-based Learning in Virtual Interactive Educational Worlds for Sustainable Development (PREVIEW-Sustain) Simon Bignell, University of Derby

• Making the Transition to Interdisciplinarity: Effective strategies for early student support Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University

• ESD in the Professional Curriculum Prof Colin T. Reid, University of Dundee

• Interdisciplinary Learning in ESD at Taught Postgraduate Level: Research-informed capacity building for curriculum development Prof Lindsey McEwan

• Interdisciplinarity, Design Thinking & Sustainable Development: Strategies for UK higher education Simon O'Rafferty, UWIC

Academy ESD management

• David Sadler has overall responsibility

• Planning Group meetings – open to all Subject Centre representatives

• Advisory Group (chaired by Prof Steve Martin. Has met twice to date)

HEA ESD Staff (all part time)

‘Field’ team• Dr Simon Smith, PRS, Project Manager• Project Coordinator: Heather Luna• Prof Stephen Sterling, U of Plymouth, Senior Advisor

Academy York team• Laila Burton (York Project Co-ordinator)• Jonathan Payens (York Project Officer)

and• Alastair Robertson (Head of Policy and Partnerships,

Scotland)

Key sites

• Higher Education Academy ESD Project http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/esd

• HEFCE’s online resource for sustainable development in HE http://www.hefce.ac.uk/susdevresources/

• Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) http://www.eauc.org.uk

• Student Force for Sustainability www.studentforce.org.uk/ 

• Centre for Sustainable Futures (CSF) at UP www.csf.plymouth.ac.uk