Tomorrow today; 2010 - unesdoc - Unesco

Curriculum and Instruction: International Joint Masters Programme inSustainable Development (2008)In this Joint Masters programme, sustainability issues areapproached from an inter-disciplinary perspective and addressthe needs and possibilities of societal transformation. Itcombines the strengths and specializations in teaching andresearch of six partner universities (Universität Graz, Austria;University of Utrecht, Netherlands; Ca´ Foscari UniversityVenice, Italy; University of Leipzig, Germany; Basel University,Switzerland; and Hiroshima University, Japan). The MastersProgramme is recognized in the countries of the consortiumpartners and students have the possibility of going on to PhDstudies in all partner countries. The Joint Programme alsoincreases participants’ employability in the private, public andsemi-public sectors.Research: Euroleague for Life Sciences (2010)The Euroleague for Life Sciences (ELLS) is a network of leadinguniversities cooperating in the fields of natural resource management,agricultural and forestry sciences, life sciences, veterinarysciences, food sciences and environmental sciences. Its main goalis to conduct research on food security as a means of alleviatingpoverty. ELLS offers International masters programmes, summerschools/intensive programmes, student exchange, grants andawards, international networking and joint teaching and lecturermobility. The network is currently led by the University of NaturalResources and Life Sciences, Vienna.Structural Implementation: innovative mobility concept of the Universityof Innsbruck (2010)When the staff of the University of Innsbruck asked for moreparking spaces, the pro-vice-chancellor for infrastructure reactedby designing an innovative mobility concept, consisting of acombination of public transport tickets heavily subsidized by themunicipality, bicycle stands, bicycle lanes and an electronic carparking system. This offer was accepted by 400 members of thestaff and thus a valuable green area surrounding the Universitycould be saved.Communication and Decision Making: Joint Lecture Series of the fouruniversities in Graz (2010)Lecturers from the four universities in Graz (Technical University,University of Graz, Medical University and University for Musicand Performing Arts) dealt with sustainable development fromtechnical, medical, musical, ethical and climatological perspectives.In the final lecture, the vice-chancellors of the four universitiesheld a panel discussion on the overarching topic of sustainability.The aim of this lecture series was to allow students and staff tolearn about the sustainability-related research activities of the fouruniversities, to trigger discussions with each other and to cross disciplinaryand university boundaries. This lecture series was the firstof a number of joint initiatives between the four universities, called‘Sustainability4U’.Student Initiatives: the study programme ‘Health Management inTourism’ of the University of Applied Sciences Joanneum, Styria (2010)This two-year programme teaches change management competences,a critical approach towards material consumption, anda work-life balance in which body, mind and soul stay healthy.Students had the task of preparing the universityto qualify for the Austrian Eco-Label. They decidedupon their own goals, such as saving energy andmaterial resources, substituting conventional productswith organic and/or fair trade ones, and makingtheir university a role model in the region, includingcooperation with schools and their pupils. Theydeveloped a mission statement for the university,integrating sustainable development, and designedan education concept for the primary and secondaryschools in the region. At the schools they performeda play on the carbon footprint, initiated a competitionfor the pupils and arranged a final ‘Festival of theFuture’ to honour the winners.Regional Integration: RCE Graz-Styria (2010)The Regional Centre of Expertise on Education forSustainable Development (RCE) Graz-Styria hasbeen located at the Faculty of Environmental andRegional Sciences and Education of the Universityof Graz since 2009. It serves as a contact pointbetween university and society, sharing informationand experiences and promoting dialogueamong regional and local stakeholders. The RCEGraz-Styria is part of an international network,Global Learning Space for Sustainable Development(GLS), which includes over 70 RCEs worldwide andis coordinated by the United Nations University(UNU).European Integration: Salzburg Centre of European UnionStudies (2008)The Salzburg Centre of European Union Studies(SCEUS)/Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, foundedin 2007, is a research, graduate and postgraduateteaching centre of the University of Salzburg,specializing in studies of the European integrationprocess, particularly in the social sciences, law andcontemporary history. The research programme ofSCEUS is organised in four disciplinary clusters.Currently it is focusing on research on the EuropeanSocial Model within a three-year programme. Inaddition, SCEUS provides a two-year multidisciplinaryMA course in European Union Studies as wellas a Doctoral School.The future of the Austrian Sustainability Awardfor UniversitiesThese examples show that sustainability has becomean important topic in many Austrian universitiesand can be implemented in a wide variety of ways.The award will be organized again in 2012 and 2014with the hope of further increasing awareness of theneed for sustainability in Austrian higher education.Alternating with the award, a more systematicnetworking of sustainability pioneers is envisaged toincrease communication about sustainability and theexchange of good practice models within Austrianuniversities and beyond.[ 150 ]