Climate University (external link)
Climate University advances climate change and sustainable development teaching and learning for a sustainable future in Finnish higher education institutions.
What is sustainability and how is it integrated into teaching in different schools at Aalto?
Universities play a key role in tackling sustainability challenges. Aalto has boldly stated that our purpose is to shape a sustainable future. Aalto’s education aims to provide all graduates with competencies to tackle complex multidisciplinary sustainability challenges. In all their activities students and graduates need to assess the impacts of their actions to make informed decisions accordingly.
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1.1. Introduction
The goal of integrating sustainability into teaching is to equip students with the necessary competencies to contribute to a more sustainable world. Many Aalto graduates enter expert positions soon after finishing their studies, and their work can significantly influence decisions related to products, services, operational issues and so on already in early stages of their careers. Aalto has the responsibility to provide its students with competencies that enable them to make decisions that result in sustainable outcomes.
This handbook provides practical tools and ideas for you, the teacher, to integrate sustainability into the courses you are currently teaching. A generous portion of the materials is directly from ‘Sustainability in Teaching’, a course that Aalto has offered as a part of its pedagogical training since 2021.
However, the basic question remains: what makes sustainability such a challenging topic that even the world’s leading institution for learning and teaching — the University — needs support in adopting and integrating it into its curricula? A few potential reasons include:
- Sustainability challenges are urgent, while our processes for research and teaching development take time.
- Sustainability challenges are multidisciplinary, while our research and teaching are intradisciplinary by tradition.
- Assessment of the solutions for sustainability includes the consideration of values, which has traditionally not been a part of university education in many fields.
- Courses are already full of content. How to incorporate new themes into the courses without increasing the overall workload?
We wish you a rewarding journey in learning about sustainability education!
Exercise: Think through the following questions:
- What does sustainability mean to you?
- What do you know about sustainability pedagogy at the moment? What would you like to know more about related to it?
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Basics of university pedagogy This handbook uses the fundamental terms from the field of university pedagogy, such as ILOs (Intended Learning Outcomes), LTAs (Learning and Teaching Activities), and curriculum development. If you are new to the field, the following website may be helpful: Aalto University Teacher’s Handbook: https://www.aalto.fi/en/teachers-handbook |
1.2. What is sustainability?
Sustainable development is often described as the process of guiding human-driven change towards a world where humanity can survive and flourish within the ecological limits of our finite planet. Human well-being—now and in the future—relies on Earth’s vital life-support systems, such as a stable climate, fertile soils, and biodiversity. However, it is important to recognise that sustainability is a complex and ambiguous concept, with multiple interpretations and frameworks for discussion.
On a general level, sustainability is viewed through three interconnected dimensions: ecological, economic, and socio-cultural. The dominating perspective has mostly considered all these dimensions as equals ever since the Brundtland definition (WCED 1987). According to the definition, sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the current generation without jeopardising the needs of the future generations. This equality of the dimensions is present in the most recent global agenda, the UN Agenda 2030, which establishes the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) that include 17 specific goals and 152 more detailed targets. However, it is also common for the environment to be highlighted because it supports the natural resources and life systems that help both communities and economies thrive sustainably.
Learn more about the different dimensions of sustainability from Climate University’s materials
To learn more about sustainability, go to Climate University's course page Sustainable.now – Climate University, which provides a comprehensive introduction to the concept of sustainability. The materials are Open Access, but you need to login.
Climate University is a network for educating sustainability experts in society and business. It has been developed through a multidisciplinary collaboration among several Finnish higher education institutions, including Aalto University.
Read examples of how sustainability is taught in different schools at Aalto:
Integrating Sustainability into Business Studies
The objective of the School of Business is to incorporate sustainability across all areas of study. In addition, the School offers advanced courses that focus specifically on the interconnections between business and sustainability.
Sustainability in Design Studies at Aalto University
Sustainability thinking is integrated into Design Studies at Aalto at both bachelor’s and master’s levels. While bachelor studies primarily emphasise the environmental impacts of product design and material choices, as well as the designer’s capacity to influence these elements through their own actions, master’s studies focus on educating the students about the necessary system-level changes.
Graduate Sustainability Competencies and Influence in the Workplace – Aalto University's Latest Research
Aalto University's Meeri Karvinen successfully defends her doctoral dissertation, February 2024.
1.3. Develop your teaching while reading the handbook
This handbook provides tools for:
- relating sustainability/sustainable development and sustainable development goals (SDGs) to your own specific subject field.
- identifying and applying different approaches to integrate sustainability into teaching on a specific course or programme level.
- reflecting how key sustainability competencies can be utilised in the development of teaching and curriculum in your own disciplinary context.
- designing and implementing learning objectives, as well as teaching and learning activities for integrating sustainability in your own disciplinary context.
- considering the role of values and emotions in your specific sustainability-related teaching.
Would you be interested in developing your own course or programme while reading the materials of this handbook?
Below, in the attachment, you can find a chart that has been developed for the course ‘Sustainability in Teaching’. The goal of the chart is to help teachers better identify the available methods for integrating sustainability into teaching, and which alternatives they could focus on. Choose either ‘I work on a course’ or ‘I work on a programme’ and follow the arrows.
Watch a video about the history of sustainability:
Return to the Sustainability in Teaching landing page:
How to Integrate Sustainability in Courses and Curricula
Are you a teacher hoping to find ways to integrate sustainability themes into your teaching? If you said yes, you will find this handbook useful!
