Dedication to embedding sustainability into the heart of teaching has seen De Montfort University, Leicester (DMU) secure a top spot in a national sustainability campaign.
The SDG Teach In is a campaign by Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK), which aims to put the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the centre of all stages of education from schools, to colleges and universities.
As part of the campaign educators from around the world are encouraged to pledge via SOS-UK to link one or more of the SDGs to their teaching, learning and assessments during the month of March.
Out of 1,284 educator pledges made from 128 institutions, across 23 countries globally, DMU led the way securing the top spot for most pledges made from a university, ranking third across all institutions overall.
Dr Andrew Reeves, Academic Lead for Education for Sustainable Development at DMU, said: “This great level of participation from DMU staff in the Teach In is a good indicator of the degree in which taught courses across DMU are finding meaningful and practical ways to engage our students with sustainable development challenges.
“Doing so is vital so our graduates can have a positive impact on society in the future, addressing social inequalities, environmental challenges and more – something with strong relevance for every subject discipline.”
Staff from across all teaching faculties and support directorates took part in the SDG Teach In, with activities ranging from teaching Norwegian Police students to accounting and finance sessions.
In total 78 learning sessions were delivered by 45 DMU staff for the SDG Teach In, demonstrating the extent to which sustainability and the SDGs are included within teaching and learning at DMU.
Dr Reeves, added: “DMU is committed to addressing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) across all of its taught course provision.
“The university is currently leading a national QAA project, identifying best practice in making ESD part of academic quality and student voice processes. DMU and De Montfort Students Union also recently achieved re-accreditation through the Responsible Futures framework to address learning for sustainability across all university activities.”
Posted on Friday 28 April 2023