Establishing local sustainability projects that address the UN Sustainability Development Goals

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v9i2.6013

Keywords:

sustainability, extra-curriculum projects, UN SDGs, multi-level evaluation

Abstract

Before increasing global disruptions and uncertainties, it is necessary to prepare students with capabilities to influence change and to nurture their agency. This case study examines a pilot student sustainability leadership initiative run at an English university. It comprises a model which combines student as partners and “living lab” practices. It engaged undergraduates in partnership with academics in projects they co-created to address curriculum and campus challenges, framing these in relation to the UN Sustainability Development Goals. The model, underpinned by constructivist and experiential learning pedagogies, harnesses creativity to nurture action for sustainability. A multi-level evaluation identified the impacts of the experience on students and academics and of the outputs in relation to the university’s education and sustainability strategies. The results demonstrate this student as partner and living lab model to be effective and efficient. It has been adopted as business-as-usual at the university and is transferable. This case study is co-authored by the staff and some of the students involved.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Diana J Pritchard, University of Bedfordshire

Diana is Head of Evaluation and Enhancement and also Institutional Lead for Climate and Sustainability Educational Practices based in the Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence.  She is Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, holds a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence and is an experienced international education evaluation consultant.  Diana is commited to collaborative interdisciplinary practices and leads the University's Sustainability Forum. She engages with different stakeholders locally and globally on challenges relating to environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

Vicky Morris, University of Bedfordshire

Having worked in various tour operation roles in the tourism industry for many years, Vicky returned to university and qualified to develop her teaching career. She is Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management at the University of Bedfordshire Business School where she teaches various tourism subjects on both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Mamur Billah

Graduated with an International Tourism and Hospitality Management BSc degree.

Irina-Petruta Balanoiu, University of Bedfordshire

Undergraduate in Business Studies.

References

Caniglia, G., John, B., Bellina, L., Lang, D. J., Wiek, A., Cohmer, S., & Laubichler, M. D. (2018). The glocal curriculum: A model for transnational collaboration in higher education for sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 171, 368–376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.207

Delors, J. (1996). Learning: The treasure within: Report to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century (Document code ED.96/WS/9). UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000109590.locale=en

Dunne, E., & Zandstra, R. (2011). Students as change agents: New ways of engaging with learning and teaching in higher education. A joint University of Exeter/ESCalate/Higher Education Academy Publication. https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/14767/7/8242_Redacted.pdf

Elon Center for Engaged Learning. (n.d.) Students as partners. Elon University. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/resources/students-as-partners/

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum.

Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2014). Engagement through partnership: Students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. Higher Education Academy (HEA). https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/engagement-through-partnership-students-partners-learning-and-teaching-higher

Hickman, C., Marks, E., Pihkala, P., Clayton, S., Lewandowski, R. E., Mayall, E. E., Britt Wray, B., Mellor, C., & van Susteren, L. (2021). Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: A global survey. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(12), e863–73. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00278-3

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice Hall.

Lozano, R., Merrill, M., Sammalisto, K., Ceulemans, K., & Lozano, F. (2017). Connecting competences and pedagogical approaches for sustainable development in higher education: A literature review and framework proposal. Sustainability, 9(10), 1889. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101889

Marquis, E., Jayaratnam, A., Mishra, A., & Rybkina, K. (2018). “I feel like some students are better connected”: Students’ perspectives on applying for extracurricular partnership opportunities. International Journal for Students as Partners, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i1.3300

Mercer-Mapstone, Drovakova, S. L., Matthews, K. E., Abbot, S., Cheng, B., Felten, P., & Swaim, K. (2017). A systematic literature review of students as partners in higher education. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i1.3119

Monico, C., & Kupatadze, K. (2020). Developing meaningful and practical global experiences through student-faculty-community partnerships. International Journal for Students as Partners, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v4i2.4002

Nansen, C. (2024). Active learning, living laboratories, student empowerment, and urban sustainability. Sustainability, 16(10), 3902. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16103902

Rafferty, A. E., Jimmieson, N. L., & Armenakis, A. A. (2013). Change readiness: A multilevel review. Journal of Management, 39(1), 110–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206312457417

Rieckmann, M. (2012). Future-oriented higher education: Which key competencies should be fostered through university teaching and learning? Futures, 44(2), 127–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2011.09.005

Rieckmann, M. (2018). Learning to transform the world: The role of higher education in the implementation of the SDGs in Issues and trends in education for sustainable development (Eds: Leicht, A. , Heiss, J. & Won Jung Byun ), 39-59. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000261802

Rogaten, J., Rienties, B., Sharpe, R., Cross, S., Whitelock, D., Lygo-Baker, S., & Littlejohn, A. (2019). Reviewing affective, behavioural, and cognitive learning gains in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(3), 321–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1504277

Ryan, A., & Tilbury, D. (2013). Flexible pedagogies: Preparing for the future. The Higher Education Academy (HEA). https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/flexible-pedagogies-new-pedagogical-ideas

SOS-UK. (2024). Sustainability Skills Survey 2023-24: Research into students’ experiences of teaching and learning on sustainable development: Higher education report. https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6008334066c47be740656954/66fe9a60aca7e1d046788f55_SOS-UK_Sustainability%20Skills%20Survey%202023-24_Higher%20Education_FINAL.pdf

United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.

Ward, M. (2023). What Does CBL, ESD and SAP spell? Actively engaged students who learn: The benefits of using a challenge based learning (CBL), an education for sustainable development (ESD) and a student as partners (SAP) approach in education. Ubiquity Proceedings, 3(1), 388–393. https://doi.org/10.5334/uproc.113

Wiek, A., Bernstein, M.J., Foley, R. W., Cohen, M., Forrest, N., Kuzdas, C., Kay, B., & Withy-combe Keeler, L. (2016). Operationalising competencies in higher education for sustainable development. In M. Barth, G. Michelsen, M. Rieckmann, & I. Thomas (Eds.), Routledge handbook of higher education for sustainable development (pp. 241–260). Routledge.

Yusoff, S., Abu Bakar, A., Rahmat Fakri, M. F., & Ahmad, A. Z. (2021). Sustainability initiative for a Malaysian university campus: Living laboratories and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Environment Development and Sustainability 23, 14046–14067. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01250-1

Downloads

Published

2025-10-15

How to Cite

Pritchard, D. J., Morris, V., Billah, M., & Balanoiu, I.-P. (2025). Establishing local sustainability projects that address the UN Sustainability Development Goals. International Journal for Students as Partners, 9(2), 211–220. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v9i2.6013

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 2 (2025)

Section

Case Studies

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Diana J Pritchard, Vicky Morris, Mamur Billah, Irina-Petruta Balanoiu

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process - this applies to the submitted, accepted, and published versions of the manuscript. This can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access).