Work in Progress: Incorporating Sustainable Development Fundamentals in the First-year Engineering Program

Purpose This paper aims to present a methodology for analysing the extent to which students of a university degree perceive that they have received a good education for sustainable development (ESD). The methodology enables us to quantify this perception, which, in turn, allows us to determine: to what extent the objectives related to ESD are achieved in the degree, and to compare the learning in ESD perceived by students of different degrees. The methodology is applied to nine engineering degrees and nine education degrees in the Spanish university system. Design/methodology/approach ESD is analysed from the students’ learning perception. This perception is measured by comparing the responses of first- and fourth-year students to a questionnaire about their sustainability competencies. Two indicators have been designed to analyse the results. The first indicator, learning increase, measures the declared learning difference between fourth- and first-year students. The second indicator, learning percentage, measure the amount of learning as reported by fourth-year students compared to how much they could have learned. Findings The results show that the average learning percentage perceived by students is higher in engineering degrees (33%) than in education degrees (27%), despite the fact that the average learning increase declared by students at the end of their studies in both areas of knowledge is similar (66%). Engineering students report having achieved higher learning than education students in all sustainability competencies, with the exception of ethics. Originality/value This paper analyses ESD from the student’s perspective. Furthermore, to the knowledge of the authors, this is the first study that compares the perception of ESD between engineering and education students. This comparison allows us to determine the different approaches that university Professors take to ESD according to the discipline they teach.

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Is It the End of the COP as We Know It? An Analysis of the First Year of Virtual Meetings in the UN Environment and Sustainable Development Arena

International Negotiation ◽

10.1163/15718069-bja10047 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-32

Author(s):

Pamela Chasek

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

United Nations ◽

Virtual Environment ◽

First Year ◽

Multilateral Negotiations ◽

The World ◽

Initial Shock ◽

Virtual Meetings ◽

The United Nations

Abstract The year 2020 started much like any other on the United Nations multilateral calendar. But then the COVID-19 pandemic forced the UN and the world to shut down. After the initial shock wore off, secretariats and governments began to contemplate how to conduct multilateral negotiations during a pandemic. As they created new virtual working methods, they also had to figure out how to maintain trust among delegations and in the process itself to ensure the outcomes of these meetings would be respected. To understand how UN meetings adapted to a virtual environment and maintained trust, this article analyzes a sample of 18 meetings of UN environmental and sustainable development bodies that took place in the 12 months between April 2020 and March 2021. The research examines these cases to see how these meetings were conducted, how they built the necessary trust, and what can be learned from this experience.

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Work in progress - from First-Year projects to senior capstone design…what skills are really gained?

2008 38th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference ◽

10.1109/fie.2008.4720461 ◽

2008 ◽

Author(s):

Daria Kotys-Schwartz ◽

Daniel Knight ◽

Gary Pawlas

Keyword(s):

First Year ◽

Work In Progress ◽

Capstone Design

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