The main aim of the project is to organize an international interdisciplinary network of academic teachers and researchers that will work together to develop operational capacity of an integrated interdisciplinary thinking about sustainable development. In addition the project will deliver useful innovative multidisciplinary tools to support development of environmental studies embedded in Sustainable Development in Higher Education.
The specific objectives are:
1) To exchange knowledge and experience concerning different types of studies and specific tools and methods for implementing interdisciplinarity in academic teaching built on the broad expertise from a range of countries’ contexts
2) To thoroughly discuss challenges of interdisciplinary education in studies related to environmental problems and sustainability;
3) To gather information on possibilities how to incorporate the sustainability-oriented education into university curricula within partners’ countries (value added)
4) To develop a handbook with some of teaching materials (from both social and natural sciences) that can contribute to improvements of study programmes related to environment in European countries
5) To test study materials adapted both to the needs of students and teachers and the needs of the labour market, available to the teachers across Europe (open access basis) after the project closure
6) To create a blueprint for a new join international innovative interdisciplinary educational programme in higher education that would tackle the contemporary environmental problems and prepare students to face them in the future.
The first Widening Interdisciplinary Sustainability Education workshop
The first workshop of the Widening Interdisciplinary Sustainability Education project took place in Uppsala, Sweden from 16th to 20th of May 2016. SLU, and was hosted by the Swedish University of Agricultural Science.
The aims of the workshop were:
- To discuss different approaches and experiences regarding the inclusion of topics of environment and sustainability in curricula already existing in partner countries
- To discuss how to build capacity and integrate Education for Sustainable Development into existing curricula in learning activities and material.
- To introduce participatory teaching methods and learning activities that motivate and empower the learners to change their behaviour and take action for sustainable development
- To exchange knowledge and good practice (of all partners) taking as a starting point the expertise of the Swedish partners in the fields of biodiversity and ecosystems services, their assessment, mapping and evaluation, as well as how the knowledge on Education for Sustainable Development can influence societal choices in conflicting situations.
- To prepare initial input to output 1, 2 and 4.
The workshop consisted of: a comparison of national teaching and learning contexts especially concerning a sustainable Development and Education for Sustainable Development, participatory and student activating methods with emphasis on case study approach, starting generating cases, inspired by the Swedish examples, to be worked on during the continuation of the project.
The result of the workshop is an overview discipline approach report 1 – Sustainable Education in comparative analysis submitted in 30 July 2016. It shows different experiences and topics of a sustainability and/or sustainable development in current curricula at universities and in different countries, etc… Report 1
More information: http://wiseproject.info/