Embedding sustainability: what next? Education Excellence Seminars September 2015 Hannah Tweddell, Ash Tierney, Chris Willmore Google: ESD at BristolGoogle: ESD at Bristol

What is Education for Sustainable Development? There is no universal model of ESD and there will be differences based on local contexts, priorities and approaches The University has based its understanding on the UNESCO definition which covers four main areas:  social and economic justice;  cultural diversity;  human rights of future generations;  the protection and restoration of the Earth’s ecosystems September 2015 Located in, disciplinary & ESD values/ discourses Choice of language - from engineering to classics Institutional drivers: Ethics, CSR, sustainable development……Which national articulation of audit?

What does ESD mean to you? 3 23 September 2015 Q What would a wordle of your understanding of your discipline show? Would a wordle of your unit documents show the same?

4 23 September 2015 What we look at ……..

…. How we look at them  Holistic  Integrated into our disciplines  Enables interdisciplinarity  Develops long term perspectives  Links action and consequences; theory and practice  Addresses values  Interdisciplinary conversations  Future thinking, critical thinking and problem solving  Participatory  Locally relevant 5 23 September 2015

“Integrate environmental and sustainability principles into the University’s operational procedures, educational activities and research endeavours, promoting best practice at every level.” UOB Sustainability Strategy 6 23 September 2015 Aim: “To ensure all students have an opportunity to develop an understanding of sustainability and have an integrated experience of theory and practice in their formal, informal and subliminal curriculum.” UOB ESD Strategy The institutional view ….

What are we aiming to achieve? That Bristol graduates understand every action has consequences: think long term; responsibility to others; collaboration; can envisage a future world and their role in creating it; that different disciplines bring different things to the table; can have interdisciplinary conversations; the link between theory and practice: 7 23 September 2015 walk the walk or talk the talk ?

Educati on for Sustain able Develo pment (ESD) What is ESD?

Not asking you to do something different, but to do what you do differently What we learn, and how we learn Theory and practice Formal and informal curriculum Bottom up not top down It does not require every module to include lectures on sustainability Or include elements that are irrelevant to the subject. It is about thinking about how your discipline can affect sustainability – and making that link explicit 9 23 September 2015 Thinking about our teaching

10 23 September 2015 SOCIAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS THINKING

Everyone is in their own box. Lecturers know their area and won’t discuss others. SD is broader than that and needs an interdisciplinary approach. Some schools claim to be interdisciplinary but are actually insular Some academics seem scared to approach SD, or don’t understand it, sticking to the basics and never examine it critically or in any depth SD is viewed as an alternative and abstract thread – tree hugging. It needs to be academically rigorous Some modules are seen as token ways to address Sustainable Development issues Want more project work to make SD more concrete and embedded Want new paradigms to be offered, e.g. reimagining how economics is studied Informal curriculum opportunities could be incorporated into the curriculum e.g. Green Impact or Engineers Without Borders Disconnect between theory and application e.g. much attention is given to the philosophical aspects but this is not applied to the real world Some faculties focus on a narrow perspective of SD e.g. business/legal aspects. These are repeated in different units rather than building and broadening the knowledge base September 2015 What students say…..

Current Thematic Open Unit UNIV10001 Sustainable Development Taught by academics from 5 Faculties Open to all students who can taken a level 4 open unit Winner of Times Higher Award and Green Gown Award Ideas for new ones o Ethics o Internationalisation o Global Citizenship ……… Can offer some start up funding governance support Futurelearn 3 rd MOOC slot still open September 2015 Separate provison

Embedded provison Medicine Global environment and Human Health 8 week student selective Vertical theme: ‘disability, disadvantage and diversity’ National initiative: sustainable healthcare September 2015

What support is available? Materials to prompt debate Faculty Videos Online tutorials Resource sets and links by School/discipline Toolkits: Self assessment: Mapping your engagementMapping your engagement Shedding external light: Contextualised Baseline review Programme Approval; APR; FQET visits September 2015

Education Excellence Seminars September 2015

Contextualised Baseline September 2015 Faculty % ESD of all Units %Students experiencing ESD % ESD of Core Units %Students on Core Units with ESD % ESD of Open Units %Students on Open Units with ESD Arts35% 28%40%7% Engineering17%9%16%8%10%1% Medical & Veterinary Sciences13%15%13%15%0% Medicine & Dentistry56%52%56%52%0% Science19%17%20%12%39%5% Social Sciences & Law39%37% 32%26%5% Average for all Faculties30%28%30%25%19%3% Department ESD-related Units (ESD Baseline Review) ESD-related Units (Humanities Review) Classics12%54% English23%70% History59%86% History of Art44%81% Religion & Theology46%69% Average36.8%72% Analysis of what you say about your units: what would YOU say yourself?

17 23 September 2015

Next steps? Preparing for European Green Capital 2015 Engaged University Theme 2013/14 Green Apple Spotlight Initiative: 8 Jan deadline Bristol hosting Two HEA national workshops: 9 Jan Embedding sustainability and Enterprise thinking 12 May ESD in the Curriculum (sign on at Go Green Project Conference: Ann Rippon & UEA – January September 2015

Keeping in touch Join the University ESD Network GOOGLE: ESD at Bristol for resources and contacts September 2015 Link to us: