Overview

International attention increasingly highlights the nature and implications of the global megatrends and shocks that are rapidly shaping our world and collective 21^st Century futures (PWC, 2022; IPCC, 2023; World Economic Forum, 2024). These relate to climate change, environmental degradation, technological disruptions, involuntary migration, social polarisation and technological disruptions, amongst other significant issues. Responding to this reality, the University’s Transforming Bedfordshire, Education and Student Experience Strategy and Sustainability Strategy commit to embed the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in provision. Reflected in growing recognition within the higher education sector of the importance of education for sustainability (Advance HE and QAA, 2021), the SDGs comprise an internationally endorsed framework which, for the purposes of curriculum, is important to:

• Nurture knowledge and understanding real life challenges experienced at all levels, from local to global.
  
  
• Establish priority, and authentic, areas for action that address real local and global challenges.
  
  
• Facilitate learning about similarities and differences of experiences and action occurring in different countries across the globe.
  
  
• Be inclusive of students with international and multi-cultural backgrounds, validate the knowledge, insights and experiences of diverse communities.
  
  
• Ensure delivery of future-oriented provision to prepare graduates to have relevant competencies increasingly required in professions and by employers.
  
  
• Align with learning in internationally recognised dimensions, namely, learning to know, to do, to be and to work together (UNESCO, 1996).
  
  
• Develop entrepreneurship by facilitating the identification of opportunities that address environmental, social and economic challenges and uncertainty.
  
  
• Align with QAA subject benchmarks which require incorporation of activities and learning outcomes relating to sustainability in all disciplines.
  
  
• Provide an antidote for the sense of disempowerment and for anxieties since working on sustainable solutions is increasingly linked to wellbeing.

Approaches to embed SDGs into the curriculum

The following approaches can be used to embed the SDGs in the curriculum and are shown in consecutive levels of complexity that correspond to the progressive Levels of study:

• Learning resources:
  
  
  • Include material on the UN SDGs, or selected SDGs and the corresponding targets.
    
    
• Learning outcomes:
  
  
  • Devise assessments that develop knowledge of how the discipline/ field/ industry relate to at least one goal and related target/s or indicator/s.
    
    
  • Devise assessments that develop learning about what local initiatives/policies/ strategies deliver on SDG goal/s at target or indicator levels (making the local-global connection = glocal).
    
    
  • Devise assessments that develop knowledge about the initiatives and progress made towards reaching an SDG in a particular country context (see distinct country reports).
    
    
  • Devise assessments that develop knowledge about progress made on at least one SDG in a particular country, and which require analysis and critical appraisal of facilitating and constraining factors.
    
    
  • Devise assessments that develop (interdisciplinary) learning on connections between the environmental, social and economic elements of the SDGs as related to discipline/ field / industry/ profession.
    
    
  • Develop awareness of ethical and professional values/ codes of conduct, personal and strategic decisions, actions, responsibilities, outcomes and dilemmas that align with the SDG.
    
    
• Assessments:
  
  
  • Require students to problem-solve local environmental, social and economic challenges and frame in relation to how these align with the SDGs.
    
    
  • Require students to identify innovative and appropriate solutions to address SDG challenges and advocate for them in particular contexts.
    
    
  • Require students to apply systematic and critical evaluation of the SDG framework, draw on evidence and develop advanced methodologies to explain conclusions and recommendations.
    
    
• Dissertations:
  
  
  • Suggest students consider framing their projects in relation to the SDGs.

Co- and Extra-curriculum activities include sign-posting students to:

• Register for annual interdisciplinary University SDG events for ideas on and contacts organisations and professions in sustainable development and related careers.
  
  
• Join sustainability related student societies or BedsSU activities.
  
  
• Register work on SDG focused projects with the Beds Career Development Award.
  
  
• Research sustainability related career options.