Maltese researchers Dr Jane Spiteri, and Ms Lucia Azzopardi recently co-led a training on sustainability education with Cypriot educators as part of the ‘Sustainability in Educational Institutions’ (SUSEDI) project.
The SUSEDI project aims to facilitate the transformation of educational institutions towards sustainability using a ‘Whole Institution Approach’. This means changes in all aspects of the institution – from the curriculum, to governance, to procurement – to ensure sustainability at all levels. As climate change and other environmental challenges threaten the stability of human societies, transforming educational institutions along more sustainable lines is more urgent than ever.
The recent trainings were co-led by the team of researchers from the University of Malta and the Mediterranean Management Centre (Cyprus). It brought together 26 trainers from 13 educational institutions and consisted of four ‘train-the-trainer’ sessions. These equipped the participants with the knowledge and skills to facilitate a course on sustainability competences, which was also developed as part of the project.
During the training, participants engaged in collaborative learning, best practice exchanges, and hands-on activities, all designed to help them implement sustainability-driven changes in their institutions.
Currently, the SUSEDI project consortium is developing a certification scheme to measure an institution’s progress to achieving the transformation into more sustainable institutions. In the lead up to the transnational meeting of project partners in Rome last February, project partners developed a route map for this transformation establishing important milestones to achieve sustainability. These milestones include: the inclusion of sustainability in the educational institution’s vision, mission, values; the integration of sustainability into the curriculum; and whether the institution’s operations are in line with sustainability objectives. This has formed the basis of the certification scheme which is currently in development.
