An Approach to Embedding Sustainability into Undergraduate Curriculum: Macquarie University, Australia Case Study

Abstract

Universities have been identified as being critical in developing sustainability-focused skillsets and mindsets (UNESCO in United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2004–2014, 2004; UNCSD in The future we want, 2012; UE4SD in The state of the art report 2014). A UK-based survey further identified that 80 % of students believe that universities should incorporate sustainable development. Additionally this percentage increases as students progress through their degree (LSIS in Embedding sustainability into teaching, learning and curriculum in the learning and skills sector, 2013). There is also a growing demand from business, for graduates to be sustainability literate, with company leaders increasingly seeing sustainability as one of the top 3 priorities (McKinsey in Sustainability’s strategic worth McKinsey global survey results, 2014). Academic discussions around sustainability are often problematic due to many factors including understanding, relevance and time (LSIS 2013; Lozano 2010). The approach outlined in this chapter acknowledged barriers and utilised a method to mitigate these issues. The process focused on program level mapping and coverage of sustainability as an interdisciplinary concept, using the Macquarie University Sustainability Framework. The initial stages undertaken in 2014 investigated connections to sustainability in four undergraduate programs at Macquarie University: Bachelor of Media (Faculty of Arts); Bachelor of Human Science (Faculty of Human Science); Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Faculty of Science), and Bachelor of Business Administration (Faculty of Business and Economics). The programs involved in this phase were chosen because they were not typically ‘sustainability-focused’ degrees. However, mapping showed all programs demonstrated connections to sustainability learning at the program level, covering a minimum of 86 % of the Framework, with the Bachelor of Human Sciences demonstrating 100 % coverage. Evaluation as to whether graduates leave with sustainability skills and knowledge is yet to be completed. Providing evidence of teaching that not just informs, but transforms students will be vital to increasing employability of Macquarie University graduates. Going forward the authors aim to measure the transformational learning of both academics and students. Essentially, external circumstances at a global level dictate that embedding sustainability into the curriculum is a responsibility all universities must undertake. The evidence gathered to date indicates that this is not an impossible mission, so long as a considered methodology and adequate resourcing is in place to support often time-poor academics.