Trinity joins pilot international sustainability education programme
Posted on: 02 November 2023
The cohort of institutions will work closely with their students throughout the year to engage with the framework of good practice, effecting changes to teaching and learning at the top-down, middle-out and bottom-up levels.
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Trinity is taking part in the pilot run of Responsible Futures International, an accreditation and supported change programme.
Participation and leadership in this pilot demonstrates Trinity’s strong commitment to embedding sustainability and social responsibility across the formal and informal curriculum in partnership with students.
Since its launch in the UK in 2014, 35 institutions have worked with their students across take part in Responsible Futures.
Students Organising for Sustainability and the International Association of Universities are now partnering to deliver a Responsible Futures international pilot, working closely with a small group of invited institutions, including Trinity and 6 other institutions across the globe to co-create the programme, including an international framework of good practice, ahead of a wider launch at the end of 2024.
The cohort of institutions will work closely with their students throughout the year to engage with the framework of good practice, effecting changes to teaching and learning at the top-down, middle-out and bottom-up levels. Students Organising for Sustainability and International Association of Universities will provide support throughout the year, including opportunities for network learning between institutions and their students. At the end of the pilot year, there is an opportunity to undergo a student-led audit to determine Responsible Futures accreditation.
Sarah-Jane Cullinane, lead of the ESD Fellows Programme for Trinity, said:
"We are very excited to work with our students on the SOS Responsible Futures pilot programme and student-led audit. It provides transparency and accountability for the work we are doing, and aim to do, on ESD in Trinity. It also positions our students as partners and leaders in that process."
Freddie Fallon, Senior Freshman Environmental Science and Engineering Student and ESD Intern in Trinity, said:
"The Responsible Futures International programme will provide robust, global guidance in the development and audit of Trinity's sustainable development curriculum. Even in the early stages of this partnership, RFI has provided eye-opening insight from institutions across the globe. As a student involved in ESD curriculum auditing and development, this scheme empowers myself and my fellow students to make the best decisions for our college community.
"More than ever before we need university graduates who are equipped to tackle the world's greatest challenges. Over the past decade, Responsible Futures has supported UK universities in making significant progress to embed sustainability and climate justice in students' learning. The international framework, co-developed with the six pilot universities, will create a model which universities around the world can learn from. Higher education has a critical leadership role and responsibility to address the climate crisis and ecological emergency. In the face of these challenges, we are delighted to be working in partnership with the IAU and six incredible pilot universities to launch the international pilot of Responsible Futures."
Hilligje van’t Land, General Secretary of the International Association of Universities, commented:
“The joint IAU and SOS UK Responsible Futures International Programme is an accelerator on the road to successfully working with sustainability at the whole institution and can help students, staff and leadership at universities work more closely together.”
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