More than a dozen innovative curricular and co-curricular initiatives for embedding education for sustainability were showcased at the annual Learning and Teaching Conference on 27 June, coordinated by Dr Edd Pitt, Professor Kathleen M Quinlan, and Dr Catherine Morris. These presentations and posters are now available to Kent staff and students here.
The keynote speaker, Dr Patrick Baughan, Head of Education at the University of Law and former Senior Learning Advisor at Advance HE specialising in Education for Sustainable Development, praised the varied innovations and high quality demonstrated in the talks and posters, commending Kent for its excellent work relative to others in the sector.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at Kent is about ensuring that our graduates, regardless of their field of study, are equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attributes to face global challenges. The United Nations have agreed to action on 17 Sustainable Development Goals, addressing a range of inter-connected social, economic, and environmental challenges such as social inequalities, resource use, and climate change. Tackling these issues requires that students be future-oriented, reflect on their own values and positions, practice systems thinking, and use their own disciplinary knowledge in problem-solving challenges related to their field.
Professor Richard Reece, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Education and Student Experience said “ESD knowledge and skills are vital to include when modernising our educational offer to achieve Kent 2030.” The conference stimulated attendees to rethink their disciplines from a sustainability perspective and enabled staff in a variety of roles to discuss how to tackle challenges related to embedding knowledge, skills, and attributes of sustainability across formal and informal learning opportunities.