Accelerating Education for the SDGs in Universities: 2021 case studies out now!
SDSN is thrilled to share a new setof 75 innovative, inspiring and diverse case studies showcasing how higher education institutions around the world are implementing and mainstreaming education for the SDGs.
The new case studies are helping to expand and update the pool of real world examples and experiences supporting SDSN’s essential 2020 resource guide, Accelerating Education for the SDGs in Universities, in this rapidly advancing area.
Education for the SDGs refers to providing the knowledge, skills and mindsets to contribute to solving the world’s sustainable development challenges and the SDGs. The guide aims to inspire and empower institutions to provide education for the SDGs to all their learners.
Given the breadth and cross-cutting nature of sustainable development challenges, elements of education for the SDGs can be incorporated into most existing formal and informal learning and teaching activities in universities, as well as into how universities engage with their broader communities. However, implementing more transformative learning approaches for the SDGs - which include interdisciplinarity, action-based learning, and multi-actor involvement - is more challenging within existing university structures.
Selected from over 200 submissions, and representing over 40 countries, the new case studies showcase the novel approaches universities are taking to tackle the challenge of mainstreaming education for the SDGs, as well as the breadth of possibilities. They also highlight the critical role of whole-of-university and sector-wide approaches in scaling up these activities.
The full list of the 2021 case studies, organized loosely by guide chapter, can be found in the guide’s 2021 Case Study Supplement. Most cases are relevant to multiple sections of the guide. We invite you to visit the case study website, blogs.upm.es/education4sdg, to explore the new and previous case studies in full, using activity and regional keywords.
Some trends emerging from the 2021 case studies include:
- Virtual initiatives involving international collaborations among several universities, turning the inevitable shift to online formats into an opportunity
- Expansion of education for the SDGs into a greater range of disciplines, including those less traditionally associated with sustainable development
- Initiatives for engaging learners outside degree-based students - such as alumni, language proficiency students, and professional development
- Comprehensive programs engaging students in addressing local sustainable development challenges
- Whole-of-university initiatives to build educator - and staff in general - capacity to understand and engage with the SDGs
- Sector-wide approaches to develop tools and resources, and to influence higher education policies
- Integration of innovation and entrepreneurship into curricular (rather than just co-curricular) programs
The 2021 case study collection, review and upload process was carried out by SDSN in collaboration with SDSN’s regional and country networks and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), which also hosts the case study website.
The official announcement of the case studies was made at the virtual International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD), during Plenary 7. The session recording can be viewed here.
