{"id":87579,"date":"2018-06-04T14:38:25","date_gmt":"2018-06-04T12:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=87579"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:00","slug":"every-student-should-take-a-subject-on-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/06\/04\/every-student-should-take-a-subject-on-sustainability\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Every student should take a subject on sustainability’"},"content":{"rendered":"

What should the state of affairs be like at EUR in 2023? Last Thursday, some 80 students and staff members set to work on this question in the Van der Goot Building during \u2018Sustainability \u2013 the next level\u2019, a conference about sustainability on campus.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>

Sustainability starts with you, but you can\u2019t get it right 100 percent of the time. Even when you\u2019re holding a conference devoted to this subject, as becomes clear when the brainstorming instructions are handed out. The organisers have accidentally printed them single-sided.<\/p>\n

The conference is an initiative of the Executive Board and the University Council. The Board is busy drawing up a new university strategy, and hopes to use the university community\u2019s input to determine which course EUR should be taking over the next few years when it comes to sustainability.<\/p>\n

Usual suspects<\/h2>
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure><\/div>

Every campus denizen is welcome, in other words. But most participants are the \u2018usual suspects\u2019, as we can hear one of them whispering in a slightly disappointed voice. Most of the attendees are either professionally involved in the sustainability theme or active within one of the university\u2019s participation bodies. In addition, we encounter a sizeable group of students from RSM\u2019s Global Business and Sustainability master programme. As well as one apparent outsider: an entrepreneur who turns out to be the father of one of the organising students.<\/p>\n

The group is parcelled out into ten \u2018round tables\u2019, each of which is invited to ponder one of the following themes: how the university can contribute to a better climate in 2023; more sustainable education and research; a carbon-neutral campus; and EUR\u2019s role in sustainable transitions. The brainstorming sessions are organised on the \u2018backcasting\u2019 principle: you start off by describing the ideal campus in 2023, and then work back to determine which steps you need to take to get there. At the end of the sessions, the participants are invited to present the best suggestions to the other attendees and Board Chair Kristel Baele.<\/p>\n

Kralingse Bos<\/h2>\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\tDoes it also extend to inclusion? Should the university also try to change the world for the better? Each time round, the answer is \u2018yes\u2019.\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

The organisers also encourage the participants to think outside of the box. This leads the tables from various intriguing but difficult-to-realise plans (\u2018integrate the campus and Kralingse Bos\u2019) to abstract vistas that won\u2019t be bearing much fruit in the short term (\u2018change the mind-set of students and staff\u2019).<\/p>\n

The members of Table 4 have some difficulty \u2018getting in lane\u2019. First, they try to define sustainability as a concept: does it also extend to inclusion? Should the university also try to change the world for the better? Each time round, the answer is \u2018yes\u2019. As a result, the issue gains so many dimensions that it is difficult to deal with in a single discussion.<\/p>\n

Impact factor<\/h2>

With some ideas, backcasting proves an effective approach. One of the people at Table 5, for example, suggests that by 2023, half of all doctoral research should focus on sustainability \u2013 either in part or entirely. This immediately spawns four extra sticky notes: 10 percent in 2019, 20 percent in 2020, etc.<\/p>\n

But other ideas are less easy to interpolate. For example, one table suggests devising a different weighting for academic publications\u2019 impact factor. This system would take stronger account of other forms of impact than just the citation score \u2013 also focusing on the publication\u2019s impact on government policy, for example. And there\u2019s the idea of rewarding sustainable research.<\/p>\n

Protracted fight<\/h2>\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t\u2018In Tilburg, they require every student to complete a philosophy subject \u2013 we could do the same here with sustainability.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Another idea that crops up quite often \u2013 although some participants believe it will be difficult to carry out \u2013 is integrating sustainability in all EUR curricula. \u2018In Tilburg, they require every student to complete a philosophy subject \u2013 we could do the same here with sustainability,\u2019 someone suggests at Table 4. A neighbour predicts a \u2018protracted fight\u2019 with the programme directors of the different faculties.<\/p>\n

Other ideas also resurface at more than one table. Integrating the wide range of different sustainability initiatives \u2013 Erasmus Sustainability Hub, GreenEUR, Sustainable RSM, Foodlab, Thrift Hub, LDE Centre for Sustainability, Erasmus Duurzaam and so on \u2013 within a single sustainability centre, for example.<\/p>\n

Green I WILL<\/h2>
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure><\/div>

At the end of the day, the groups have the opportunity to pitch their best idea to the Chair of EUR\u2019s Executive Board Kristel Baele. In response, she proposes setting up a \u2018green team\u2019 of students and staff members who can think along about the university\u2019s strategy over the next few years.<\/p>\n

The Chair also endorses the idea of incorporating sustainability in each of EUR\u2019s degree programmes \u2013 although she does emphasise that it depends on the programme which shape this will take. And sustainability should also play a role in research at the university. Although this doesn\u2019t mean that researchers should flat out reject the fossil-based industry according to Baele. \u201cIf you plan to establish how these companies could make the transition, you will need to research them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baele concludes by announcing a campaign inspired by RSM\u2019s \u2018I WILL\u2019 initiative. \u201cI propose we all formulate our own personal statement about sustainability, similar to what the RSM students did in I WILL. People shouldn\u2019t just talk about sustainability \u2013 it\u2019s about deeds, not words. And making changes to your lifestyle isn\u2019t necessarily easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t