Meet the Task Force on Education for Sustainability and read about the most pressing issues and upcoming events that we discussed at our most recent meeting! If you are interested in engaging with us, our next meeting will take place on November 18.
On September 16, the Task Force on Education for Sustainability met for updates, feedback and general discussions. We talked about, among other topics,
Upcoming events:
- Laura Weitze, Professor of Engineering Communication at the University of Applied Sciences in Nürnberg, visits the Centre for Engineering Education week 39. Learn more about her research on 26 September: Teaching for Sustainability: Sustainability in STEM Education | Avdelningen för högskolepedagogisk utveckling (lu.se)
- Seminar: Joy, passion, purpose 16 October, 12:10-13:00. The aim of this seminar is to help teachers reconnect with what gives them a sense of joy, purpose, and passion in their teaching, as well as to start developing strategies for how to create situations where these emotions are likely to be experienced, and how they can be shared with students. More information and registration: Teaching for Sustainability: Cultivating a Sense of Joy, Passion, and Purpose in Your Teaching | Sustainability Forum (lu.se)
- LUTL24: The Lund University Teaching and Learning conference 2024 with the overarching theme of “connecting teachers — changing from within”. The Teaching for Sustainability-working group is contributing with a presentation about the initiative. The initiative is also organizing a workshop about serious games. In addition, the IIIEE organizes events on groupwork and online learning. Read more about the conference here: https://www.ahu.lu.se/en/educational-development/lutl-2024/
- National networks and their activities:
- The national H.E. Climate Network is organizing three online seminars this semester – see below for dates and titles. If you are interested in attending any of the seminars or want to know more about the network, contact Terese Thoni (terese.thoni@cec.lu.se). Read more about the network here: Higher educations’ climate network | Externwebben (slu.se)
- The Swedish Council for Higher Education hosts online breakfast seminars (pedagogiska temacaféer). Four seminars on Education for Sustainability have been planned and Lund University is one of the organisers. See below for dates and titles. Read more about the seminars here: Temacaféer | hpu.uhr.se.
Courses:
- We are excited that the new course Integrating Sustainability Competencies in Curriculum (ISCC) is now up and running! The course is equivalent to one week of pedagogical training with six workshops and individual work: Integrating Sustainability Competencies in Curriculum | Division for Higher Education Development At the meeting we discussed, inter alia, the possibility and need for a reiteration of the course.
- The online course and global network Higher Education Didactics for Sustainability (HEDS) HEDS241 (kau.se) ran this year for the first time with LU as one of several host universities. The course is free of charge for participants, but each host contributes with working hours to facilitate the course. The next opportunity to take the course is 2025, but LU needs new facilitators. If you are looking for teaching opportunities and want more information, please contact Terese. Compensation for your time is available.
We also received updates from participating units/institutions/faculties, including from:
- LTH on their planning a specialized course for teachers affiliated with the Circular Building-profile area,
- The Faculty of Science on their plans to remake the introductory course for PhD students,
- The IIIEE on their collegial project course on teamwork as well as life-long learning courses on sustainability,
- The Faculty of Medicine on their plans for a tailor-made workshop for teachers on 15 October as well as a recent U21 conference in Amsterdam,
- The Faculty of Social Sciences and the Department of Political Science on their Sustainable Development-working group, cooperation with the University of Copenhagen, as well as their course on planetary politics,
- And the Faculty of Law and their current focus on the sustainability plan.
On the topic of the sustainability plan, Lund University’s central sustainability plan is up for its second and final revision this autumn. The deadline to suggest new activities is the 1 November. Contact Terese for more information on the process and possibilities to engage! See also: Hållbarhetsstrategi och hållbarhetsplan | Hållbarhetsforum (lu.se) for the current strategy and plan.
As always: If you would like to get in touch, we would love for you to contact us and join our activities! 🙂 You are also welcome to contact us with suggestions on activities and resources that you think would make a difference to educators for sustainability. If you are interested in a tailor-made presentation or workshop about Education for Sustainability for your unit, team of educators, or other interested participants, please contact terese.thoni@cec.lu.se for more information and time-booking.
About the initiative:
The Teaching for Sustainability-initiative, coordinated by the Sustainability Forum in close collaboration with colleagues the Centre for Engineering Education (CEE) and the Division of Higher Education Development (AHU) can be loosely described as a three-step effort organized as follows:
- Working Group: Engages in operational planning and implementation of activities and resources. This is the group that engages in operational planning, with meetings at least every month (currently, Terese, Steven, Karin, and Mirjam - we welcome everyone who would like to get engaged!).
- Task Force: Receives information and provides input that guides the work of the working group, with meetings twice per semester. The aspiration is to have at least one member per faculty to make sure that the working group receives input from all faculties.
- Community of Practice: Our community engages and empowers members to explore real approaches to integrate sustainability into their teaching practice. We welcome everyone interested in education for sustainability – welcome to join our Teams-group for inspiration and to engage in discussions: Community of Practice | Division for Higher Education Development (lu.se)
As the initiative continues to grow, we invite members of our community to contribute their time, effort, skills, and passions to the operationalisation and implementation of our work. Currently, we are seeking additional members to join the Working Group or Task Force. If interested, we welcome you to join any of our meetings to observe how we work. Working group-member Steven Curtis writes more about what engaging in the initiative entails in this blog post: Contributing to Our Community: How You Can Support “Teaching for Sustainability” – Teaching for Sustainability (lu.se)
Summary, upcoming events and activities:
- 26 September, 10.15-12.00, workshop: Teaching for Sustainability – Sustainability in STEM Education, Study Centre, LTH, room “Brunnen”, John Ericssons väg 4.
Join us for a workshop on integrating sustainability into science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, by exploring interactive methods and educational research. More information and registration: Teaching for Sustainability: Sustainability in STEM Education | Avdelningen för högskolepedagogisk utveckling (lu.se)
- 27 September 13:15-15:00 webinar Lärosätenas klimatnätverk* on online platforms for exchange of knowledge and experiences in education for sustainability
- 16 October, 12:10-13:00 seminar “Joy, passion, purpose”: Teaching for Sustainability: Cultivating a Sense of Joy, Passion, and Purpose in Your Teaching | Avdelningen för högskolepedagogisk utveckling (lu.se)
- 18 October, writing day for Early Career Researchers
- 21 October, 13:15-15:00 webinar Lärosätenas klimatnätverk* on pedagogic development – inventory and exchange of experiences
- 29 October, 9:00-10:00 – breakfast webinar 1 on education for sustainability** –”SDGs och deras pedagogiska implikationer
- 12 November, 9-10: breakfast webinar 2 on education for sustainability** –”Pedagogiska exempel”
- 13-14 November – Learning and Teaching-conference 2024 Lund University Teaching & Learning Conference 2024 | Division for Higher Education Development
- 18 November – next task Force on Education for Sustainability-meeting – welcome to join!
- 26 November, 9-10: breakfast webinar 3 on education for sustainability** –“Hur påverkas undervisningen men kanske också hela lärosätet?”
- 4 December research conference “Knowledge for Sustainability”. Deadline to submit abstracts 8 October Knowledge for Sustainable Development 2024 | Sustainability Forum (lu.se)
- 21 January, 9-10: breakfast webinar 4 on education for sustainability** – ”Inner Development Goals (IDG) och pedagogiken”
* contact terese.thoni@cec.lu.se for more information and login-details.
**all webinars will be available to watch at any time Temacaféer | hpu.uhr.se, see also: Evenemang från september 16 – januari 21, 2025 – Högskolepedagogik.se (xn--hgskolepedagogik-mwb.se)
