Sustainability in our Teaching and Learning

At Birmingham our ambition is to nurture a new generation of climate-conscious citizens and support staff development to bring a breadth of perspective and expertise to a challenge that crosses social, economic and environmental boundaries.

Universities are educational institutions that need to work hard to produce graduates with the cross-disciplinary skills and capabilities that enable them to demonstrate the eight core sustainability competencies as outlined by UNESCO (2017). Our ambition is to ensure all our students and staff are informed about the critical issues around social and environmental sustainability. 

Here you will find information about Education for Sustainability (EfS) at Birmingham for prospective students, current students and staff. You can also find out how to get involved with sustainability action at the University.

three young adults listening intently to their teacher, sitting around a table covered in textbooks and notes, with Aston Webb visible through the window in the background.

 

Looking to study with us?

We understand that sustainability is often at the forefront of your mind when considering where to study. You may be interested in the ways in which we are endeavouring to be a more sustainable institution, or the ground-breaking sustainability-related research that staff are engaged in to tackle the challenges of the future. If you are particularly interested in degree programmes that explicitly focus on sustainability you can see some examples of these below:

Undergraduate degrees

-       BSc/MSci Global Environmental Change and Sustainability

-       BSc/MSci Human Sciences

-       BSc/MSci Chemistry with Sustainability

-       BSc Biological Sciences (with a specialist pathway in Food Security and Sustainability).

Postgraduate degrees

-       MSc Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship

-       MSc AI and Sustainable Development

-       MSc Sustainable Chemistry

-       MSc Environment, Development and Politics

-       MSc Poverty, Inequality and Development

-       MSc Environmental Toxicology with Law

-       MSc Physics and Technology of Nuclear Reactors and MSc Nuclear Decommissioning and Waste Management

-       Global Energy and Environmental Law LLM and Energy and Environmental Law LLM (Online only)

-       MSc Global Ethics and Justice

-       MA Education (Social Justice)

-       A range of opportunities in Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences including MSc Applied Meteorology and Climatology, MSc River Environments and their Management and MSc Air Pollution Management and Control.

During your time with us you would have a wide range of opportunities to engage with sustainability via elements of your degree (and through our sustainability-focused Graduate Attribute), via extra-curricular activities and courses (for example, all students are expected to complete a minimum of a one-hour training course ‘Sustainability in Action’ during their time with us). There are opportunities to apply to our sustainability internship scheme, become a Sustainability Champion or even a Green Hero in halls of residence in your first year. You can see more about some of these opportunities via our ‘Get Involved in Sustainability’ pages.


A young woman in her graduation gown smiling chatting to her lecturer, with a proud mother looking on in the background.

Enhance your sustainability knowledge and skills at the University

As a current student or staff member at the University 麻豆精选 there are lots of ways for you to develop your knowledge and skills around sustainability.

Develop your knowledge

All students and staff are expected to undertake the one-hour Sustainability in Action online training course. This provides foundational knowledge of the breadth of sustainability through the three pillars (environmental, social and economic) and the UN SDGs, including key topics such as climate change, the ecological crisis and carbon awareness. It covers core areas including energy and water use, consumption and recycling, travel, food choices, in combination with a practical understanding of how to be more sustainable both at home and on campus. Participant’s sustainability knowledge is assessed through a multiple-choice assessment with an 80% pass rate.

This training is being embedded into our teaching and learning, for example, through core tutorial programmes and workshops in the summer term programme. The course is also embedded into staff inductions and we can support whole team uptake through complementary workshop sessions.

For those who wish to take their learning further there is a 4-week (~15 hour) short course ‘ to develop your biodiversity literacy skills. Knowledge attainment for both of these courses is assessed with a minimum pass rate of 80%.

We also have a , which provides access to a wealth of books, papers and resources about different elements of sustainability. You can even suggest any additions you would like to see. The library regularly have displays linked to sustainability, for example, for Earth Day you could explore books linked to each of the SDGs.

Further opportunities for all to develop further skills and knowledge is also available through activities such as our Green Weeks, Sustainability Champions workshops, and events throughout the year. More information about these can be found on our 'Get involved in Sustainability’ pages.

Student Specific Opportunities

Students specifically engage with our , the qualities regarded as necessary to navigate the fourth industrial revolution and contribute to a rapidly changing society. Sustainability-focused is a key attribute under Future-Focused and is broadly defined as ‘being committed to sustainable development in every aspect of life’. As part of this wider activity students are able to identify their strengths and areas to develop in relation to this attribute, and there is the provision of resources to support this.

Undergraduate students can also apply to undertake a paid Summer Sustainability Internship with one of our global-leading research groups. in their blog post. These internships are open to non-graduating undergraduate students during the summer (up to 6 weeks long, 25 hours per week). Priority is given to Birmingham Scholar students (), but all are welcome to apply. In previous years, projects have ranged from lab-based research exploring the development of clean and commercially viable alternative fuels through to sustainable film and tv production and the execution of policy analysis on migration and climate change in North Macedonia.

There are also a range of institution-level, national and international competitions that we support students to take part in. For example:

  1. (embeds the core competencies and challenges linked to sustainability).

  2. .

  3. in collaboration with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Embedding Sustainability into our Teaching and Learning Strategy

We are committed to ensuring that all students receive a comprehensive education in sustainability. Our ambition is to integrate sustainability principles, both within and alongside the curriculum, to ensure our students are well-equipped to tackle global challenges for the future. To do this we have developed three core Sustainability Education principles framed around UNESCOs (2017) core competencies and built around the Education for Sustainability (EfS) framework. 

Education for Sustainability (EfS) is an approach to teaching and learning that highlights the principles and practices of sustainability. The focus of Education for Sustainability is the development of the skills, knowledge and motivation to engage with sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to understand the interconnections between the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social and economic systems.

The Sustainability Education Principles at Birmingham

Our teaching and learning strategy has three core principles for Sustainability Education that are the minimum expectations (the Birmingham standard) required. The three core principles are:

1. Aid all students in understanding the significance of sustainability, specifically in relation to their discipline, enabling them to become climate conscious citizens of the future.  

2. Provide students with further opportunities to develop the skills necessary to tackle the multifaceted and interconnected challenges of the environmental, social and economic pillars of sustainability.  

3.  Empower students to engage in action-oriented and participatory learning, reflect on their responsibilities and act as a voice for sustainability within their wider community.  

Core staff responsible (Heads of School, Heads of Education and Module leads), together with all staff involved in teaching and learning are able to access these principles, together with more details, resources and examples of enhanced practice in the . To further facilitate the embedding of sustainability we have recently updated our processes for proposals and modifications to degree programmes and modules to incorporate information about how and where EfS and the SDGs are integrated. A number of Schools and Departments also engage with external bodies to support the embedding of sustainability. For example the Birmingham Business School is a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Business Management (PRME).

Staff engaged with education are able to join a Sustainability Education Community of Practice and can also find a series of  showcasing examples of good practice.  

We are proud to be a member of EAUC - The alliance for sustainability leadership in education.