Strathclyde’s Vision 2025 commits to placing education for sustainable development at the heart of our curricula.
Our aim is to support the integration of the principles and practices of sustainable development into our existing learning and teaching activities, and develop new educational programmes in this area.
We're already home to excellent examples of education for sustainable development (ESD). Our internationally acclaimed Vertically Integrated Projects for Sustainable Development programme was the winner of the UN endorsed 2020 International Green Gown Award for Student Engagement. This programme enables staff and students to work in partnership on inter-disciplinary SDG-related research.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) online elective module
Another key initiative is the SDG online elective module, which for the first time makes ESD available online to all students, studying on all degree courses, at all levels across Strathclyde. The module has been designed in line with UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development Learning Objectives so that students develop the competencies required to address sustainable development goals.
Our departments, such as Civil & Environmental Engineering, have also had highly successful and long established academic and ESD teaching partnerships with organisations such as Engineers without Borders (EWB). Through this relationship, Civil & Environmental Engineering students can take part in the EWB Engineering for People Design Challenge, where they work on engineering challenges in a development context. A Strathclyde student team won the Challenge in 2017.
Sustainability in Action
We are celebrating 30 years of the MSc Sustainability and Environmental Studies at the University of Strathclyde (1992-2022) with a selection of 34 photos showcasing how alumni from this degree are contributing to "Sustainability in Action" in a variety of jobs globally.
Sustainability in ActionEducation for sustainable development
We strive for education for sustainable development to form a core component of all our teaching activity. In addition, we have a number of courses and initiatives specifically dedicated to preparing our learners to engage with and contribute to sustainable development.
Undergraduate
A key initiative for our undergraduate students is the Strathclyde Development Goal online elective module, which for the first time makes ESD available online to all students, studying on all degree courses, at all levels across Strathclyde.
The module has been designed in line with UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development Learning Objectives so that students develop the competencies required to address sustainable development goals.
We also fund summer internships for students to contribute to ongoing SDG focused research projects jointly with our academic staff.
Our departments, such as Civil & Environmental Engineering, also have highly successful and long-established partnerships with organisations such as Engineers without Borders (EWB). Through this relationship, Civil & Environmental Engineering students can take part in the EWB Engineering for People Design Challenge, where they work on engineering challenges in a development context. A Strathclyde student team won the Challenge in 2017.
Vertically Integrated Projects for Sustainable Development
Strathclyde’s award-winning Vertically Integrated Projects for Sustainable Development (VIP4SD) programme is the first of its kind in UK Higher Education.
Internationally acclaimed, it was the winner of the UN endorsed 2020 International Green Gown Award for Student Engagement.
This programme enables staff and students to work in partnership on inter-disciplinary UN Sustainable Development Goal-related research. It represents an innovative approach to embedding research-based education for sustainable development in our curricula.
Find out morePostgraduate
Our taught postgraduate courses are available as Postgraduate Certificate, Researcher's Diploma or Masters degrees.
Executive Education
We offer a range of courses to suit individual learners and corporate needs to prepare the workforce to fully embrace sustainable development in their practice. We can tailor our executive education programmes to suit the needs of our learners, taking advantage of the wide ranging expertise available within the institution. Please contact us for more details by emailing: tracy.thomson@strath.ac.uk.
Schools
Our staff and students engage widely with younger learners to promote awareness of sustainable development as well as supporting Scotland’s communities to achieve their own goals.
- Island explorers
- VIP for education
- Mock UN/COP