southampton

The Sustainability Action Programme is working to embed Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into the curriculum across all eight faculties. ESD is an approach to developing people’s knowledge, skills and values in order to shape a more sustainable future. It goes beyond teaching about sustainability concepts, to enabling individuals to become globally responsible citizens with the skills to shape a sustainable future.

Education for Sustainable Development at Southampton

The Sustainability Action Programme is mapping the teaching of sustainability in all the undergraduate and postgraduate taught degrees at the University. The goal is to celebrate where sustainability is already embedded within the curriculum and support further opportunities to develop our ESD. Find out how this relates to your study or work by following the links for students and staff.

Why does ESD matter?

Students are also saying that they want this learning. For the last three years, the Higher Education Academy and the National Union of Students have published research on current student attitudes to sustainability at university. This research consistently demonstrated that over 80% of students believe that sustainability should be covered by their university.

Education must prepare future leaders and citizens. In the face of global environmental, social and economic challenges, graduates of the University of Southampton must be equipped to create solutions for a better, more sustainable future.

Key benefits for our students

Sustainability issues are complex and multi-faceted by nature, and so ESD helps students develop:

An understanding of the relevance of social, economic and environmental to their discipline
Systemic thinking: cultivating problem-solving skills to address complex sustainability problems which lack obvious solutions
Interdisciplinary and holistic thinking
Participation in decision-making
Critical thinking: the ability to appraise existing values systems and assumptions
An ability to work in cross-disciplinary teams

Student research symposium

We're giving over 100 students the opportunity to take a leading role in the UK’s first national student sustainability research symposium on Friday 15 April 2016. From presenting your undergraduate student research to developing your social media skills, there are a range of ways for you to make the most of this unique opportunity.

Find out more

For students: which modules can you take to learn more about sustainability and your discipline?

For staff: how does sustainability relate to your subject? How can we support you in teaching sustainability?