Centre for Sustainable Futuresat the University of Plymouth
ESD CETLwww.plymouth.ac.uk/cetl/esd
Dr Stephen Sterling
Schumacher Reader in Education for Sustainability
Quote 1: ‘Reinventing the university’
‘…it is pre-eminently in the universities that we should be thinking hardest about the implications of this whole world-system for our common life and its future, and bringing the best of our available intelligence to bear on the necessary changes. If not there, where? If that’s not the business of universities in the early twenty-first century, what on earth are they for?’
-John Foster, 2007
From review of Michael M’Gonigle’s Planet U: Reinventing the University
‘My perception that universities have pretty well isolated themselves from society, through their academic detachment, and that’s the way they’ve made themselves rather irrelevant to current issues of sustainability, which are absolutely critical. ….
And…so I’ve felt that university education has to go radically localised, in the sense of integrating student learning with the local community. Universities have to become dedicated in service to their community…..
…that’s something that I see emerging quite strongly now…this is going to radicalise University education, and make it relevant.’
- Academic, University of Plymouth, 2005
Quote 2: ‘Make it relevant’
Centre for Sustainable Futures Has a mandate for transforming the University of
Plymouth into an institution modelling university-wide excellence in SD/ESD
Aims to have all students engage critically with sustainability agendas and their personal, ethical, professional and personal implications
Seeks to embed ESD into curriculum, learning and teaching across all schools
Undertakes pedagogical and institutional change research so development is research-informed
Aims to play a key role nationally by engaging with HEIs, Higher Education Academy and Subject Centres, HEFCE, EAUC etc
20 Centre Fellows across Schools and Faculties
Campus Community Curriculum
Key structures
Fora
Centre FellowsCore team
DirectorAsst DirectorReader
Research Fellow
Centre Manager
Three Research Assistants
Support staff
Student placements
Steering Group
Reps across UP and external partners
IWG
Interdisciplinary curriculum working group
Environment Committee
Wave model of change
Curriculum
CommunityCampus
Culture
Whole systems approach
To enhance student and staff experience through embedding sustainability across
the curriculum
To embed sustainability
practice across the UoP campus
To contribute to the regional sustainability
agenda through university / community
partnerships
To engage with a cultural backcloth and
attendant practices that feed
unsustainability
The four C model
What are your ‘unique selling points’?
• Only CETL set up specifically to engage in whole system change
• Working to crack the ‘curriculum nut’
• Research emphasis – research ‘about’ and ‘as’ change- nine strands, evaluation and meta research
• Four ‘C’ model
• Centre Fellow model
• Implementing systemic change approach
• Student support
• Chancellery support
• Links with other CETLS – proposed ‘Plymouth Academy’
• Partnership with Schumacher College
What research, tools and otherresources have been created through the Plymouth CSF CETL and how can the sector access these?
• Sustainability policy
• Generic module
• L&T framework
• Staff Wiki resource
• Research tools: student/staff perceptions; curriculum audit
• Website
How is your CETL engaging with the wider HEI community?
Links with:
• Regional networking – Partner colleges; SW ESD Coalition; HE SW Academy network
• HE Academy ESD Project and Joint Link Group
• Papers and articles, book forthcoming, CPD workshops, conference presentations
• Links to HEFCE, EAUC, Forum etc
• International links – IMESD, UNESCO, GHESP, OECD, Tbilisi plus 30 conference etc
How will the wider HE sector become more sustainable as a result of the Plymouth CSF CETL?
• Dissemination – website, papers, seminars, conferences etc
• HE Academy ESD Project staff link: module, framework, strategy, conference inputs etc
• Staff Wiki resource
• Joint projects/initiatives – Bradford, Manchester, Concordia etc
• CPD
• Feeding into HEFCE Strategic Review and follow-up
Centre for Sustainable FuturesKirkby LodgeUniversity of PlymouthDrake CircusDevon PL4 8AA
01752 238890
ESD CETLwww.plymouth.ac.uk/cetl/esd
Building the future…!
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