Global Citizenship for Sustainable Development

Vision

UM aims to deliver high-quality, innovative education characterised by a culture of inclusion and respect that is welcoming to diverse backgrounds, perspectives and ideas. Our mission is to educate our students to become responsible global citizens and critical thinkers who can contribute meaningfully to society and be agents of positive change – locally and globally. Hence, Global Citizenship for Sustainable Development is a logical next step in building on UM’s tradition of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and the International Classroom (ICR).

Why

This mission stems from the university’s social responsibility to invest in students’ personal development and to forge links between the university and society, from the local to the global level. We hold ourselves accountable for the future of our world and planet. Today’s society faces major challenges which do not stop at the border: they are global and interconnected. To ensure that our students can cope with the challenges in an ever-changing world, UM aims to offer an educational environment that stimulates Global Citizenship for Sustainable Development. This is appreciative of the view that sustainable development goes beyond general statements like ‘greening society’, and includes the complexity and interdependence of economic, social, environmental and institutional aspects of human progress to its full extent.roving and innovating the learning environment.

What

To achieve this mission, UM invests in teaching and training students and staff to acquire the necessary competencies - in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes – to act as global citizens. We want to embed the core values and key competencies of global citizenship for sustainable development in our classrooms by connecting the main elements of our Global Citizenship Education (GCEd) framework with our teaching methods and the content of our study programmes. We focus on three overarching elements: (1) global literacy: the ability to grasp world problems and take into account other perspectives; (2) social responsibility: an empathic concern for others, for society and for the environment paired with moral sensitivity; and (3) transformative engagement: working with others to apply the knowledge acquired with a view to effecting change.

How

Inside the classroom, the unique combination of PBL and the ICR provides students with an inspiring and engaging learning environment that provides opportunities for fostering the development of global citizenship for sustainable development competencies. Our bachelor’s and master’s programmes bring together students and staff from diverse backgrounds (e.g. in terms of nationality, culture, previous educational experience), thereby familiarising them with a wide scope of ideas, opinions and perspectives. Students work together, learn from each other, and also learn to consider (potential) conflicts as learning moments in which they are able to develop their intercultural conflict resolution skills and resilience.

Outside the classroom, UM provides students with opportunities to partake in meaningful extra-curricular activities. For instance, the Civic Engagement Portal connects students with societal organisations, and enables students to achieve the Global Citizenship badge. In this manner, students generate local impact during a valuable learning experience outside the walls of the university.

To equip our teachers with the necessary competencies to provide high-quality education in an international and diverse classroom, UM invests in teacher professionalisation in which GCEd is embedded: staff training courses, University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD). This means that all teachers at different stages in their careers are able to develop themselves as educators. Moreover, a dedicated steering group supported by EDLAB continuously provides inspiration for imp