Education for Sustainable Development through IATL's Modules
Initial Steps
IATL has a long-standing interest in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), beginning in 2013 with a joint project with Monash University entitled ‘Building Bridges for Education for Sustainability, 2013Link opens in a new window.’ This project, developed under the aegis of the Warwick-Monash Alliance, evaluated existing levels of ESD provision and the prospects for expanding provision. The report, authored by IATL Research Fellow, Dr Ria Dunkley, assessed Warwick’s level of activity as being relatively low, with scope for further development.Development of IATL's First ESD Modules
IATL responded to the recommendations in Dunkley's report by developing two interdisciplinary UG modules (Challenges of Climate ChangeLink opens in a new window and Achieving Sustainability: Potentials and BarriersLink opens in a new window) as well as by supporting a strategically funded project, ‘Meadow MeandersLink opens in a new window’, which implemented Dunkley’s recommendations by addressing the challenge of combining imaginative academic interdisciplinary study with extra-curricula, estates-based and community-focussed creative action. The Climate Change and Achieving Sustainability modules were incubated in IATL and then transferred to Global Sustainable Development where they continue to be offered to students across the University. In addition, the Climate Change module will be used as the basis for a new UG module that will form part of a BSc Environmental Science Degree Apprenticeship course now being developed as part of the STEM Grand ChallengeLink opens in a new window.
IATL and the MSc in Humanitarian Engineering
From December 2015, IATL supported the development of the Warwick-based MSc in Humanitarian Engineering, initially as a strategic funded project before co-developing and hosting the programme when it was launched in 2018/19. The project, which received HEFCE funding (Developing a student-driven educational model between, beyond and across disciplinesLink opens in a new window), developed interdisciplinary training in the field of Humanitarian Engineering which covered themes related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (e.g. Clean Water and Sanitation, Good Health and Well-being, Affordable and Clean Energy and Sustainable Cities).
Educational for Sustainable Development and IATL's Modules
The majority of IATL’s current modules, by nature of our interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary provision, feature elements of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Some examples are the modules Thinking Water, The Slow Movement, Design Thinking for Social Impact, and Understanding Wellbeing.
Another example is the new IATL module Rethinking Health ScienceLink opens in a new window, which features on the University’s ESD webpageLink opens in a new window. The module invites students to consider key themes from SDG 3 (Health and Wellbeing), including the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had (and continues to have) on physical and mental health, and public health policymaking. Closely connected topics the module covers include the communication of science to the general public, and the nature of evidence and justification in science. The module also asks students to analyse key concepts (e.g. ‘cause’, ‘health’, and ‘disease’) and critically examine the benefits, limitations, and impact of life sciences and medicine, both historically, and on our contemporary lives, societies, and culture.
The breadth of ideas, topics and disciplines covered by Rethinking Health Science – and all IATL modules – reflects the interconnected nature of the global problems captured in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Poverty, health, education, gender equality and all the other goals cannot be entirely separated from each other, and IATL’s modules reflect that essential message:
“The Sustainable Development Goals... recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection.” https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/
Further information on how IATL covers the Sustainable Development Goals in its portfolio of modules can be found hereLink opens in a new window