Abstract
The paper is part of the broader narrative of transforming curricula in universities in Zimbabwe and Austria. The landscape in higher education globally is inexorably shifting as a result of major global forces of change. For that reason, higher education cannot remain immune to these global challenges and changes. Rather, universities should be the agents of change. Higher education in Austria and Zimbabwe, in response to these global challenges and imperatives, has begun the process of transforming curricula to educate graduates for the future. The paper explores the strategies that universities in Zimbabwe and Austria have initiated to be able to support students to make meaningful contributions to the global learning and sustainability narrative. The two central questions that this paper seeks to answer are: Which additional innovations in curricula and new epistemologies should universities in Zimbabwe and Austria implement in order to educate graduates for a sustainable future? What can universities in the South and in the North learn from each other? In attempting to reflect on these questions, pertinent lessons will be drawn from initiatives in Austria and Zimbabwe to build capacity to achieve the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) agenda through various strategies.
Highlights
This study reflects developments at universities in Austria and Zimbabwe
Example 2: Harmonizing University Curricula The other reform in higher education in Zimbabwe is the harmonization of core modules of similar degrees through the Minimum Bodies of Knowledge and Skills (MBKS) program
The transformation of higher education in Zimbabwe through the MBK/S and the two examples from Austria show that the global agenda that higher education should espouse ought to resonate with the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030 (UNESCO, 2017)
Summary
This study reflects developments at universities in Austria and Zimbabwe. The North-South perspectives will be paramount for drawing lessons from the initiatives of the universities in the North and South with the goal of mutual learning. A major role of the university in society is to generate and transmit knowledge which should lead to the transformation of society (Moscardini et al, 2020; Pee and Vululleh, 2020). This means that the design of curricula has to address the current dichotomy between knowledge and skills by embedding essential competencies which will impart “A complex of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable successful task performance and problem solving on real-world sustainability challenges and opportunities” (Wiek et al, 2011).
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