Shaping young people’s critical thinking, perspectives on life and skills to take action, are maybe the most important tasks of today’s universities. Adapting the way we organise our education to today’s complex societal challenges and wicked problems – from climate change to poverty – is thus an imperative.
Under the umbrella of ‘sustainability education’, a thriving literature has already developed sets of pedagogical and competency frameworks that are widely accepted and ready for use. We can find the crystallisation of this in the online teacher training on sustainability (in Dutch) developed by the Flemish government in collaboration with all Flemish universities, including UAntwerp. This training course focuses on introducing sustainability competences and democratic and participatory learning processes in higher education courses.
Milestones reached
In the 2019 Climate Action Plan, a couple of priority action points were identified. However, without a plan of action or a task group responsible with the capacity to execute these action points, many of them were not reached.
On the positive side, it must be acknowledged that interdisciplinary education has a strong tradition at UAntwerp in the form of bachelor, master and postgraduate study programmes (master programme in environmental sciences, bachelor and master programmes in socio-economic sciences, master programmes in development studies, postgraduate programme in climate and energy, summer school, etc.). This is partly due to the high engagement of individual researchers and research groups, leading to a good offer on sustainability-related education. Further progress has been made in the addition of the topical and university-wide, interdisciplinary courses (Dutch: korfvakken) as electives in the third year of the bachelor programmes.
Nevertheless, a clear university-wide vision and strategy on implementing sustainability in education is currently lacking. This has resulted in a fragmented landscape of initiatives and actions with many blind spots and a lack of a clear overview and visibility. Moreover, it hampers the university in jumping in ambition level from nothing, education about sustainability and education for sustainability, to sustainable education (as described by Sterling, 2004).
An assessment of the 2019 objectives:
- Develop an UAntwerp vision on sustainability in education and research: no action has been undertaken in developing a university-wide vision on sustainability in education.
- Outline staff expertise and research projects, as well as sustainability competences in programme components: the earlier attempt at creating an outline in 2014 undertaken by the Education Department proved that it is difficult to create an up-to-date and detailed outline of sustainability competences in programme components.
- Establish a formal working group on sustainability in education at UAntwerp: a formal working group on sustainability, climate and education has been established.
- Initiate an Antwerp city lab to investigate complex sustainability challenges (and/or increase participation in Stadslab2050): no action has been undertaken in this regard. Stadslab2050 has ceased to exist.
- Start new university-wide, interdisciplinary courses on sustainability topics as pilot projects: some experiments have been conducted in the Antwerp Summer University.
- Train lecturers on sustainability competences (‘professionalisation trajectory’): in collaboration with ECHO and the Educatiepunt Duurzaam Hoger Onderwijs Vlaanderen, a couple of workshops were organised. Further outreach based on an online learning module looks promising.
- Increase the visibility of successfully incorporating sustainability and interdisciplinarity in education: A brochure on Good Practices in Sustainability Education at UAntwerp was developed and the 2019 Education Policy Day dedicated two time slots to sustainability competences and good practices. In 2021, both Education Policy Days organised presentations addressing sustainability in education.
Goals
- Create an organisational context in which interdisciplinary, problem-based education activities can easily be organised;
- Set up an assessment process for all bachelor and master curricula from all faculties to include sustainability competences in the study programmes;
- Support CIKO staff and lecturers to engage with sustainability competences.
Actions
Create an organisational context in which interdisciplinary, problem-based education activities can easily be organised
Establish a formal expert working group on sustainability in education, under supervision of the Vice-Rector for Education, to develop a clear vision and action plan on sustainability in education.
- Indicator: establishment of an expert working group;
- Indicator: adaptation of the current vision and policy for education; integrating sustainability in education.
Exploration and set up of a UAntwerp living lab or city academy (Stadsacademie). This can be attached to existing initiatives such as CSL or the Antwerp Science Shop (Wetenschapswinkel).
- Indicator: concept note has been drafted and the idea is discussed in relevant fora.
Support interfaculty initiatives, such as the Interdisciplinary Project Week funded by the call from the Advancement Fund. Continue this type of funding.
- Indicator: provision of a structural funding stream for problem-based and interdisciplinary education projects stimulating new pilots, improved interfaculty cooperation or strengthening existing initiatives
Highlight sustainability and climate change in education on the annual Education Policy Day.
- Indicator: programme of the Education Policy Days.
Set up an assessment process for all bachelor and master curricula from all faculties to include sustainability competences in the study programmes.
Provide financial capacity to set up facilities for faculties and departments to outline and review the sustainability competences present in their curricula. Excellent examples of such processes can be found here and here.
Develop a learning network on ‘integrating sustainability in UAntwerp’s curricula’ (see example from UGent).
Support CIKO staff, Vice-Deans of Education and lecturers to engage with sustainability competences.
Organise a student survey on their views and perspectives of sustainability in their university education (see example from UGent).
- Indicator: survey is being organised with a minimum of 700 respondents from all faculties.
Continue organising workshops and peer-to-peer learning sessions on integrating sustainability competences in education for CIKO staff and lecturers.
- Indicator: four to five annual workshops and seminars are organised which are open to all CIKO staff and lecturers.
All faculties develop a core competences framework integrating sustainability competences.
- Indicator: this element is part of the quality assurance activities of the Education Department.
Indicators
A strong indicator of how the provision of sustainability in education is caters to the demand of students is the results of student surveys on this topic (see Action 9.7).
Another indicator could be the percentage of bachelor students that choose courses focused on climate change or sustainability from the university-wide, interdisciplinary courses and how this has evolved over the past decade.
For further indicators, see above.
Challenges
Similar to research, one clear challenge for interdisciplinary education is the compartmentalised nature of the university in disciplinary departments and faculties which are often difficult to bridge. A strong vision and strategy on sustainability in education can be developed through an inclusive process involving discussions and strong support from UAntwerp’s management and Education Department, as well as from the faculties (similar to how the Diversity Policy was developed). Funding initiatives need to focus on the just distribution of money, also expressed as ‘calculation units’.
Another challenge might be the knowledge gap for lecturers who are not yet familiar with sustainability to start engaging with sustainability education and the lack of context in which they can start learning to do this.