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Putting Education for SDGs into Practice in Higher Education

By SDSN Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific

With SDG 4.7 calling for all learners to acquire the knowledge and skills to promote sustainable development, SDSN AusNZPac and ACTS 2025 Regional Forum: Putting the SDGs into Practice in Higher Education brought together leaders and practitioners from across the region and beyond to explore key aspects of how higher education institutions in our region are progressing towards putting this ambitious goal into practice.

Session 1: Institutional pathways to mainstreaming education for the SDGs: Perspectives from senior Higher Ed sustainability leaders

In the first session of this forum, we brought together senior Higher Ed sustainability leaders from our region to chart pathways institutions could take towards implementing the broad and cross-cutting educational agenda presented by SDG 4.7, reflecting on priorities, approaches, and changes within and outside the sector.

Speakers:

  • A. Prof Martin Brueckner, Pro Vice Chancellor Sustainability, Murdoch University
  • A. Prof Belinda Gibbons, Acting Dean, Business School, University of Wollongong
  • Corey Peterson, Chief Sustainability Officer, University of Tasmania
  • Prof John Thwaites, Chair, SDSN AusNZPac, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University (Moderator)

Session 2: The role of higher education in accelerating our region’s transition to a sustainable economy and society

This high-level session brought together leaders from within and outside the Higher Ed sector to discuss the range of skills the region needs now in order to be able to transition to a sustainable economy and society, the key role the Higher Ed sector plays in providing these, and what more the sector could be doing to accelerate action.

Speakers:

  • Richard Evans, CEO, Talent Nation
  • Prof Usha Iyer-Raniga, Director Integrated Circular Economy, Climate Resilience, Clean Energy, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University (moderator)
  • Graz van Egmond, CEO, Banksia Foundation
  • William Van Ausdal, Head of Sustainability, Property, Facilities and Development, Flinders University

Session 3: Practical approaches to integrating education for the SDGs into Higher Ed degrees and programs

This session showcased examples of how Higher Ed institutions are integrating education for the SDGs, including ESD and “green skills”, into disciplinary programs and degrees, to ensure graduates and professionals have the knowledge and skills they need to help our region transition to a sustainable economy and society.

Speakers:

  • Prof Michele John, Director, Sustainable Engineering Group, Curtin University – Integrating ESD into disciplinary degrees: International lessons and local reflections
  • Dr Allen Hill, Head of Department – Humanities, Ara Institute of Canterbury | Te Pūkenga – Exploring interdisciplinary sustainability core capabilities relevant to all degrees and professional development
  • Dr Simon Minaee, Lecturer (Management) & Vesna Sampson, Lecturer (Management / Entrepreneurship & Innovation), Murdoch Business School, Murdoch University – The ESD edge: Transforming entrepreneurship & innovation at Murdoch
  • Kate Mai, Senior Lecturer (Accounting) & Course Coordinator (Bachelor of Accounting), La Trobe Business School, La Trobe University – Integrating the SDGs and sustainability into the undergraduate Accounting degree

Session 4: Empowering Higher Ed educators to integrate ESD into their teaching

Integrating ESD across the whole curriculum is a key approach to ensuring all learners have the knowledge and skills to promote sustainable development. However, educators in different disciplines may not have the specialised ESD knowledge, confidence, time, or resources to integrate ESD into their own teaching. This session explored approaches Higher Ed institutions in our region are taking to support and empower educators across the institution to integrate ESD into their teaching.

Speakers:

  • Jen Dollin, Director, Sustainability Education and Partnerships, Western Sydney University) – The Educators Guide for Sustainability Teaching and Learning (& Moderator)
  • Maryam Sharifkhani, Postdoc Fellow, Vice-Chancellor’s Office, University of Canterbury – SDG tagging program and lecturer surveys
  • Emma Mills, Lecturer, Director of Student Experience, School of Art & Design, UNSW – ESD Community of Practice – A heuristic model empowering educators as active agents of change
  • Dr Liza Barbour, Education Fellow (Planetary Health), Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science & Gitanjali Bedi, Senior Lecturer, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University – Co-designing planetary health curriculum for health professions education to progress the SDGs
  • Brittany Vermeulen, Sustainability Program Manager, Western Sydney University – Update on the ACTS sustainability literacy and culture survey working group

About the organisers

The Forum is part of the joint activities of the Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) & Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) AusNZPac Mainstreaming education for SDGs member support group, and builds on the three earlier regional forums on accelerating education for the SDGs in 2021 and 2022.