Re-imagining Education
DCU recognises the distinction between education about Environmental Sustainability and Education for Sustainability (EfS) and are committed to addressing both.
Education about Environmental Sustainability relates to issues such as climate change and renewable energy while EfS focuses on the interdependent and challenging aspects of sustainability within social, cultural, economic, political and environmental contexts.
In order to thrive in the increasingly complex world of work, DCU graduates require innovative, adaptable thinking and skills.
In 2021, DCU introduced six new courses and four new specialisms to meet this need, each built on a radically re-imagined curriculum, designed to meet critical needs around sustainability, climate change, artificial intelligence and more while drawing on our deep industry partnerships.
These courses empower students to learn in innovative ways, including challenge-based, immersive learning experiences, industry-led hackathons, significant final year projects and leadership skills development
Transversal skills are the fundamentally human skills that differentiate us from the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies. They are the skills that are invaluable in any walk of life, regardless of the nature of the work involved.
At DCU, we are focused on fostering a broad set of transversal skills that will enable our students to choose and achieve a life they have reason to value. These include highly relevant skills relating to sustainability, critical thinking, systems thinking, social capital, collaboration and more.
We envisage in future being able to offer stackable micro-modules relating to sustainability, which could include:
- Principles of Sustainability- Social, Cultural, Economic and Environmental
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Global Challenges
- Climate Change, Planetary Boundaries, Carbon Footprints and Budgets
- Global Justice, Human rights, Equality
- Biodiversity (including national and international biodiversity loss and the importance of eco-systems)
- Sustainability at DCU
Our Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Hub is an online resource available through Loop designed to support teaching staff at DCU to integrate sustainability into practice across all disciplines.
This includes sustainability knowledge and competencies along with a strong focus on pedagogy and methodology to encourage academics to integrate more active experiential and democratic activities in their teaching while highlighting the importance of transdisciplinarity- where learning is developed with external partners.
In collaboration with the National Forum for Teaching and Learning, DCU aims to offer all staff the opportunity to earn an Education for Sustainability Digital Badge.
This content will be specifically tailored to meet the needs of academic staff, with a strong focus on integrating sustainability and climate issues into existing modules as well as using innovative methodologies to develop new competencies.
The ESD Ideas Exchange initiative allows members of staff to collaborate, share best practices and discuss new research and developments relating to this area. Along with a Staff/Student Network for ESD, this will ensure any developments in our Teaching & Learning will reflect the needs and expectations of our students.