UNSW Sydney has developed a new educational resource for academic staff to incorporate sustainability thinking into their course content.
The UNSW Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Toolkit provides a platform for academics to integrate ‘SDG thinking’ across education platforms, based on the framework established by the United Nations.
The SDG Toolkit is a non-prescriptive and flexible education resource that anyone in UNSW can access and integrate into their course. It is interdisciplinary in scope and can be adapted for many educational contexts.
Many UNSW educators and leaders share their expertise across the 12 SDGs covered in the Toolkit. The integration of the SDGs into learning and teaching programs is an important component of the UNSW Environmental Sustainability Plan 2019-21.
Dr Daniel Hempel, from Educational Delivery Services in the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) Portfolio, developed the Toolkit.
“The Toolkit is broad and flexible in the hope that it will become a resource that is adopted widely across the University. The input from UNSW leaders and academics makes it familiar and relevant to staff and students alike,” he said.
Professor Ben Newell, Professor of Cognitive Psychology & Deputy Head of the School of Psychology, who is featured in the Toolkit, explained, “This is an incredibly useful resource that can be readily integrated into a variety of courses. Think of it as a source of ideas for engaging our students in meaningful discussions about the future of our planet.”
You can view the SDG Toolkit on Moodle. The accompanying series of videos featuring UNSW educators and leaders is also available on a YouTube playlist.
Head of Environmental Sustainability William Syddall said, “Our students and staff are our catalysts for a sustainable future and the SDG Toolkit is designed to engage students in contemporary sustainability issues. By integrating ‘SDG thinking’ across UNSW educational programs, we hope to equip our future leaders to contribute to a more sustainable world.”
For questions about the Toolkit or how to use it in your course, please email sdg-toolkit@unsw.edu.au or contact Dr. Daniel Hempel.