Abstract
Teaching formats involving non-university partners are increasingly gaining importance to deliver key competencies needed in higher education for sustainable development. Such teaching formats may also create new transdisciplinary spaces that allow different actors to impact regional transition towards sustainable development. Against this background, this article focuses on how universities foster regional transition through teaching, particularly in collaboration with local non-university. Using the interdisciplinary certificate programs on sustainable development offered by the German Universities of Tübingen and Duisburg-Essen as case studies, we analyze the potentials and challenges of teaching programs on sustainable development for promoting regional transition. Leaning on the multi-level-perspective-approach, we have used qualitative interviews to shed light on the design of cooperation between the university and regional partners as well as the creation and integration of transdisciplinary learning spaces. This paper shows that the impact of such teaching formats on the regional transition consists primarily of awareness and network building. One of the most fundamental challenges faced is unequal power relations in terms of access to resources, financing, and doing the course planning. Simultaneously, co-design, mutual understanding, and collective decisions on roles and responsibilities and—especially—empathy and trust are crucial factors for successfully teaching cooperation towards regional sustainability.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilThe United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) intended to be achieved worldwide by 2030, underline the importance of addressing rising inequality and unfolding consequences of climate change
What is being done by the academia and higher education institutions (HEI) themselves to contribute to sustainable development? Building upon this question, this article focuses on “teaching” at HEI to examine the extent to which Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has an impact on the surrounding region regarding sustainability
How can the cooperation between the university and non-academic partners pave ways for regional transitions towards sustainable development? Following this question, we have analyzed the cooperation’s design: What are favorable factors and challenges, what are potentials and difficulties regarding possible impacts at the regional level? we explored how actors interact within that cooperation and how it affects the other levels outside of the cooperation
Summary
The United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) intended to be achieved worldwide by 2030, underline the importance of addressing rising inequality and unfolding consequences of climate change. Countries and institutions across the globe are called upon to pursue these goals. One important feature of the SDGs is the enormous focus on education, especially Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) (SDG N◦ 4.7). What is being done by the academia and higher education institutions (HEI) themselves to contribute to sustainable (regional) development? This article focuses on “teaching” at HEI to examine the extent to which ESD has an impact on the surrounding region regarding sustainability. 2 codes by 2 people Indirect Impacts. Sustainability awareness/information rising towards students towards project partners towards society towards local politics
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