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Sustainability Education as a Warwick Core Skill – Co-creating a reusable learning resource

The Employability Strategy defines 12 WCS that all Warwick UG students will develop. The Sustainability Strategy for the university includes a commitment to develop ESD. We are imagining how these two key strategic areas can come together to create the future of learning communities at Warwick.

Through this project, we will have a student co-created Moodle space that includes student created materials that will cover:

A definition of Sustainability

A self-paced learning resource (equivalent to 2-hours work) that provides an in depth introduction to the skill. It will integrate case studies with students and graduates as changemakers.


Going deeper: Links to central activities and opportunities across a range of
service providers.


Need: NUS surveys demonstrate in excess of 70% students want to learn about sustainability. However ESD is not sufficiently visible therefore not accessible. We will work in consultation with other students across disciplines to ensure that Sustainability Core Skills can be integrated to their practice. The ultimate aim of the strategy is to create a campus-wide student community of sustainability champions.


The COVID-19 crisis has brought the need to seamlessly move between face-to-face, blended and online teaching environments. Budgetary restraints during this time of change have reduced the ability to work with students at key
partners and co-creators. This project will allow true co-creation of a central resource aimed at supporting the development of Sustainability as a WCS.


Long term, the Moodle will be a stand-alone resource for students who might prefer the flexibility if online self-paced materials, such as those who have caring responsibilities or demanding jobs outside of their studies.


Co-creation: Aligning with the University Strategy and the Education strategy, we
will work in partnership with staff and students to co-create this educational
experience.

The project will result in a resource developed for students, by students. Including a student team (Warwick Enterprise Innovation Fellows) in our creation process will ensure that the resources are inclusive, interdisciplinary, internationally
informed, and developed through student research. They will create and produce resources. They will explore the proposed framework, challenge and adapt as required, establish a plan for the project and lead in the creation of materials that respond to student needs. Staff will act as mentors, so learning and development happens with the students, who take the lead in defining required outcomes. Staff will also cover QA responsibilities, ensuring that resources proposed for creation align with the strategic input that will come from SDT.

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image of Ninna Makrinov
Ninna Makrinov, Teaching Fellow (Study, Professional and Analytical Skills), WMG. Having started work in this co-creation project while working at Student Opportunity, I recently moved to an exciting new role at WMG as the quantitative methods and professional skills lead for the SPA module.



image of Debbie Smith
Debbie Smith, Enterprise Development Officer, Warwick Enterprise. My role is to identify and deliver enterprise-related opportunities that foster a culture of student enterprise, innovation and entrepreneurship on campus and beyond.