Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is embedded in UCA’s academic quality assurance programme. All academic course teams are required to reflect upon ESD in relation to their courses in preparation for course validation and periodic review.
ESD is part of the remit of validation panels in considering courses for approval. Key documents are available to Course Leaders, including guidance on ESD from QAA and the HEA to help in preparation of course documentation for review. An example of the guidance given to staff on the integration of ESD into their courses is provided on the UCA Creative Education website.
UCA’s commitment to sustainable development is communicated in course information booklets to all new students and courses are aligned with the United Nations definition of ESD.
Education for Sustainable Development empowers learners to take informed decisions and responsible actions for environmental integrity, economic viability, and a just society, for present and future generations, while respecting cultural diversity. It is about lifelong learning and is an integral part of quality education. ESD is holistic and transformational education which addresses learning content and outcomes, pedagogy, and the learning environment. It achieves its purpose by transforming society. UNESCO, 2019
In late 2022 academic programme directors mapped the content of each course against the United Nations seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). All courses have taught content that engages students on issues relevant to the SDGs, including for example, equality and diversity, climate change and sustainable resource consumption and production. The mapping exercise is ongoing, and the findings will be used to track the how ESD is embedded across the curriculum.
In 2021 UCA’s Business School for the Creative Industries signed up to the United Nations' Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), where learning will focus on the UN PRME’ s six key principles; purpose, values, method, research, partnership and dialogue, with an emphasis on ethics, inclusivity and sustainability in business.
In 2021/22 the University’s School of Fashion & Textiles (SoFT) launched the UK’s first degree course in digital fashion. The MA Digital Fashion, which commenced in September 2021, is a response to the environmental concerns of fast fashion and the significant market growth in online virtual fashion, through virtual and augmented reality, social media and gaming, where garments are designed for the virtual world.
In October 2019, UCA became one of the founder partners in the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Albert sustainable education partnership.
Albert brings the UK screen industries together to tackle their environmental impact and inspire sustainable living: reducing the impact of the production process and being the vehicle for positive environmental change.
UCA’s School of Film, Media and Performing Arts has adopted Albert’s ‘Applied Skills for a Sustainable Screen Industry’ module, which was introduced to provide students with the opportunity to understand sustainability and its professional and personal relevance. The module also aims to equip graduates with the skills to support the industry’s sustainability transition once they are working within it. This year is the third year that graduates of the BA TV production have been accredited by BAFTA as Albert graduates, with 89% of students achieving Albert Graduate certification.
Students are also able to access the Industry Carbon Calculator to work towards achieving an Albert footprint certification for their work, which demonstrates that the environmental impact of their productions have been monitored and measures have been taken to manage and reduce impact.