Sustainable education

The project Sustainable Education aims to involve the entire academic community in the process of becoming a truly sustainable university by 2030.

UM offers:

  • courses and full-time programmes on sustainable development (see below)
  • various project activities to further raise the profile of sustainability in education

Sustainable Education aims to strengthen and enlarge the sustainable development education at UM, and it wants to provide an overview for everyone who is interested in topics of sustainability. The project team is positioned at the heart of the academic community, and acts as a facilitator within the UM’s sustainability initiative.

The project aims to ensure that UM students are given sufficient opportunities to learn more about sustainable development and that they can acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that will make them better equipped to contribute to sustainable development during their studies, work and private lives.

Courses on sustainable development

Enter the coursename in the course finder for more info.

Selling wafles for charity

Project owner sustainable education:
Ron Cörvers
Scientific director of MSI, Maastricht University
 r.corvers[at]maastrichtuniversity[dot]nl

Project coordinator sustainable education:
Ceren Pekdemir
Assistant Professor at MSI, Maastricht University
 ceren.pekdemir[at]maastrichtuniversity[dot]nl

Bachelor's

  • Biobased Materials and Technology 
    (FSE/MSP, 5 ECTS)
  • Climate Change
    (FSE/UCM, 5 ECTS)
  • European Environments 
    (FASoS, 9 ECTS)
  • Globalisation and Inequality 
    (Part of minor/FASoS, 12 ECTS)

  • Globalization and Inequality: Perspectives on Development
    (FSE/UCM, 5 ECTS)

  • Innovation Systems, Policy and Sustainability Transitions 
    (FSE/UCM, 5 ECTS)

  • Law of the Sea
    (FoL, 6 ECTS)

  • Social and Environmental Entrepreneurship 
    (FSE/UCM, 5 ECTS)
  • Sustainable Development 
    (FSE/MSP, 5 ECTS)
  • Sustainable Development 
    (FSE/UCV, 5 ECTS)
  • Sustainable Development: An Introduction 
    (FSE/UCM, 5 ECTS)

  • Sustainability and Social Justice
    (FSE/UCV, 5 ECTS)

Master's

  • Biobased Materials 
    (FSE, 6 ECTS)

  • Business Innovation and Sustainable Development 
    (SBE, 6.5 ECTS)

  • European Environmental Law 
    (FoL, 6 ECTS)

  • Global Policy Challenges in Comparative Regionalism
    (SBE/MGSoG, 4 ECTS)

  • Governance for Sustainable Development 
    (SBE/MSI, 5 ECTS)

  • Innovation and Innovation Policy From A System Perspective
    (SBE/MGSoG, 4 ECTS)

  • Innovation for Sustainable Development 
    (SBE/MSI 5 ECTS)

  • Innovation for Sustainability
    (SBE/MGSoG, 4 ECTS)

     

  • Integrated Sustainability Project 
    (SBE/MSI, 5 ECTS)

  • International Environmental Law 
    (FoL/Center for European Studies, 7.5 ECTS)

  • Methodology for Sustainability Assessment
    (FSE/MSI, 5 ECTS)

  • Plant-derived Materials
    (FSE, 6 ECTS)

  • Risk and Vulnerability Assessment
    (SBE/MGSoG, 4 ECTS)

  • Solution Design and Policy Communication to Address Societal Challenges
    (SBE/MGSoG, 4 ECTS)

  • Sustainability Assesment Skills 
    (SBE/MSI, 4 ECTS)

  • Sustainability of Biobased Materials
    (FSE, 6 ECTS)

  • Sustainability, Law and the Environment 
    (SBE/MSI 5 ECTS)

  • Sustainability Science, Policy and Society 
    (SBE/MSI, 5 ECTS)

  • Sustainable Development 
    (SBE/MSI, 5 ECTS)

  • Sustainable Finance, Management and Strategy 
    (SBE, 6.5 ECTS)

  • Sustainable and Responsible Investments 
    (SBE, 6.5 ETCS)

  • The Social Entrepreneurship Public Policy Nexus
    (SBE/MGSoG, 4 ECTS)

  • Thesis Research and Writing 
    (SBE/MSI, 5 ECTS)

Fulltime master's and PhD programmes

Partnerprogramme: Innovation for a Healthy Population and Sustainable Health Care (FHML & MUMC+)

Project activities

In the ambition to be a sustainable university by 2030, UM wants to involve the entire academic community. Therefore there are ongoing activities to explore and realise this goal. Next to existing sustainable educational bachelor's and master's programmes and PhD level, a selection of strengthening education for sustainable development are the following:

UM wide minor on sustainable development
Sustainable development is a complex and very multifaceted theme. If we want to know more about it and come up with good solutions to environmental, social and economic problems, we can draw on numerous disciplines. For bachelor students who are about to enter the labour market and want to contribute to a sustainable world, an interdisciplinary minor is an excellent opportunity to gain more insight into what sustainability means for different disciplines, regardless of their own background.

There are already several courses offering interdisciplinary and broadly oriented courses in the field of sustainable development, but not all students have the opportunity to take them. With the introduction of a UM-wide minor (24-30 ECTS), sustainability subjects can be made accessible to everyone. This project investigates the possibilities for a UM-wide minor in the field of sustainable development in order to anchor this subject as an essential study theme in the UM education programme. We have asked students for their opinion by means of a survey. Currently, a working group with academic staff from different faculties of the UM is working on the design of the minor. We will continue to involve students in this process in 2020

Strengthening competencies for sustainable development
Within the international discourse on education for sustainable development, there is large agreement on key competencies. Thanks to UM's problem-based teaching method, a number of these skills are already amply covered, such as (integrated) problem solving, cooperation and critical thinking. It encourages students to work together in a critical and interdisciplinary way to solve problems. These competences are also recognised in UNESCO's skills in education for sustainability (see for example chapter 2 of Issues and Trends in Education for Sustainable Development).

Some competencies can be complemented or strengthened to enable students to think and act in a sustainable way. During this project we investigate how students can strengthen their competences in the field of sustainable development. For example, we are working with the Global Citizenship project to incorporate global citizenship skills into education. In the spring of 2020, we will work with staff and students during Green Impact to jointly draw up a plan for training on sustainability competences for UM employees as well.

Seminar series on professionals in sustainable development
Together with Green Office we organise monthly seminars in which professionals in the sustainability field share their successes and struggles.
Seminar #1: Energy transition
Seminar #2: Water use
Seminar #3: Plant-based diet

Read more about our work