Meet the sustainability educators at EUR

In this blog, we introduce you to the sustainability educational activities that were showcased. We also discuss what challenges educators face as they strive to teach sustainability, and how the university community can help deal with these challenges.  

Mariecke van der Glas (Interdisciplinary Sustainability BSc Course) 

The first speaker of the event was Mariecke van der Glas, EUR Program Manager Sustainability. She presented a work-in-progress: an EUR-wide introductory course on sustainability for all BSc students. The goal is to prepare students for a career in which they can tackle sustainability challenges, with the SDGs as a guideline. Mariecke stressed the strong sense of urgency at EUR to tackle sustainability challenges, shown by its recent climate and ecological emergency declaration and the expressions of concern among students and staff becoming louder. “EUR must step up their efforts, especially in education for sustainability,”, Mariecke said. She ended with an open invitation to all staff to co-develop the course. Please contact Marieke de Wal via DIT@eur.nl if you want to be involved. 

Juliette Mattijsen (Planetary Health; ErasmusMC/ESPHM) 

In a showcase of student involvement in sustainability education, MSc students Juliette Mattijsen and Anouk Nusselder unveiled their impactful journey towards integrating Planetary Health into the medical curriculum of ErasmusMC and ESHPM. The new programme teaches students that human health and the health of our planet are intricately linked. For example, while the changing climate negatively affects human health, the health care system with its extensive use of single-use materials negatively affects the health of the planet. To address these interrelated challenges, the program devises innovative exercises that empower these future healthcare professionals to understand the consequences of their decision-making and explore alternative approaches.

Marit Schouten (Economics of Sustainability Impact Cases; ESE) 

Next, Marit Schouten showcased educational innovations at Impact Centre Erasmus. Here, Marit works as an Impact Researcher and Educator. As part of the Economics of Sustainability Master track of Erasmus School of Economics, the Impact Centre Erasmus runs so-called ‘Impact Cases’. These are year-long group projects designed to teach students the skills and knowledge they need to develop, analyse, and evaluate economic policies concerning sustainable development challenges.  

The master track was launched this year and introduces four innovations:  

1. the impact case goes from practice to theory and back to practice, instead of using cases only to understand the theory;  

2. the assignment continues across semesters starting in block 1 and finalizing in block 4;  

3. it combines design-thinking and goes beyond a purely economic perspective on the problem;  

4. the students receive training professional skills and support in personal development.  

Dr Margreet Luth-Morgan (Legal Ethics and Contemp. Issues; ESL) 

Dr Margreet Luth-Morgan of the Erasmus School of Law presented the restructuring of the mandatory course ‘Legal Ethics and Contemporary Issues’ at ESL. The newly structured programme now includes a module during which students need to “explain the general impact of contemporary challenges on society; specifically, regarding technological innovation (track 1) and climate change (2)”. In this module, Margreet aims to broaden the student’s perception of “enforcement”, by showing how norms can change at the international level without using the traditional channels of law enforcement and diplomacy. Margreet has expressed that in doing so, she sometimes struggles with facilitating comprehension and solution-oriented thinking, as students are often not able to let go of their preconceptions about the discussed societal issues.  

Dr Ana Vasques (Minor Sustainability Transitions; EUC) 

Dr Ana Vasques from Erasmus University College (EUC) showcased the minor on sustainability transitions that Ana’s team has been running for the past three years. Educational design in the Minor is based on ‘Challenge Based Learning’ with its three main elements Acting, Engaging, and Investigating. During ten weeks, students participate in multiple modules given by teachers from a variety of disciplines. Using insights from these modules, such as ‘The Philosophy of Sustainability’ and ‘Transitions in Arts and Fashion’, the students build a real-life sustainability intervention, develop a research plan, and if possible, conduct their intervention in real-life.

Pinar Coskun (DIY: Sus. and Equitable Food Strat.; EUC/RSM) 

Emphasizing the need for an eco-centric rationale, Pinar Coskun (Founding Manager of the Erasmus Food Lab), showcased the course ‘Sustainable and Equitable Food Strategies’. Pinar developed this course in collaboration with Rotterdam School of Management (RSM). The course focuses on “bringing theory and practice closer”. It not only teaches students about the macro-meso-micro levels of the global food system, it also features cooking lessons. Students write and cook a recipe that is “healthy for you and the planet” and keep track of eating habits in a food journal. 

Dr Stef Lemmens (Closed-Loop Supply Chains; RSM) 

Dr Stef Lemmens from the Technology and Operations Management department at RSM, started his presentation by comparing the development of a new course with the development of a baby: they can only grow when they are allowed to experiment and become messy. In his course ‘Closed-Loop Supply Chains’, Stef shows that creating a circular economy also requires experimentation and out-of-the-box thinking. The course starts with multiple examples of firms that have tried to make their business models more circular, some more successful than others. The students are then asked to investigate multiple circular business models. The main aim of the assignment is that the students realize that there is not one perfect business model that optimizes all societal needs and maximizes profits.

Dr Robin van den Akker (MSc Societal Transitions; ESPhil) 

Last, but certainly not least, was Dr Robin van den Akker from the Erasmus School of Philosophy, presenting the Master Societal Transitions. The new master’s programme is innovative by being “interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, transformative, and (by focusing) on the socio-economic and institutional dimensions of societal transitions”. Robin pointed out that while learning about the (un)sustainability of society, students are likely to experience a variety of unsettling but crucial affections that are eventually a prerequisite for transformative action. The programme, therefore, has two tracks that guide the students in this journey: a reflection track and a leadership development track. For activities in both tracks, the students can earn credits. Read more here.

Reflection: Challenges and opportunities for sustainability education 

In setting up and running their sustainability education projects, educators also face many challenges. On the one hand, that’s because sustainability challenges are complex, uncertain, and evaluative. On the other hand, university structures and mindsets can complicate sustainability education efforts.  

In dealing with these challenges, we need to work collectively. Students must play a special role here, as Myrthe Bark emphasised during the event. That’s why the organisers asked students about their concerns and ideas regarding sustainability education at the event. They shared concerns about having separate sustainability programmes instead of integrating sustainability thinking in all courses. Another concern was how teaching about sustainability can challenge the traditional role of the discipline in society and thus the rules within the faculty. Also, the role of the teacher in sustainability education was discussed. Must they remain in their position as experts? Can they accept that due to the complexity of sustainability issues, they do not always know the answers to the questions and instead take on the role of a coach guiding students to find the answers themselves? And can the students also guide the teachers in the transformation of their education, as shown in the planetary health track at ErasmusMC?  

In her speech during the opening ceremony of the ESD 23, Jilde Garst provided three ways in which the university must change to adequately deal with the difficult qualities of grand sustainability challenges. First, we must collaborate across disciplines to tackle complex sustainability challenges. Second, we need to learn how to deal with uncertainty and we should thus gain the skills needed to accurately anticipate and seamlessly adapt to unexpected changes. Lastly, we must learn how to navigate the tensions and emotions around sustainability. The complexity and uncertainty of sustainability challenges evoke discomfort, anxiety, and frustration. Teachers should not only reflect on these emotions and how they influence their academic duties themselves, but also together with the university community to better understand each other’s experiences with sustainability challenges and subsequently not get stuck in our own ways and exclude people. 

Moving forward 

At the Design Impact Transition (DIT) platform, we aim to further the conversation about sustainability in education. Interested in joining us?  

We have a few opportunities coming up:  

• During the EUR Sustainability Dialogues, we invite all students and staff to share their views on sustainability at EUR – including in education. The outcomes will serve as input for EUR’s new sustainability strategy 2.0. Read more here.  

• We aim to organize another Sustainability in Education showcase at the beginning of the next academic year. If you want to present your education or want to help organize this event, please contact the DIT team at dit@eur.nl