Kingston University

Fostering sustainable leaders and change-makers through student-staff partnerships

In January 2023, we started changing learning and teaching practices as part of our Sustainability Plan and our Town House Strategy mission, which underpins our commitment to enabling a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable future.

We support staff and students to see themselves as sustainability leaders, proactively developing equitable and sustainable solutions for Kingston University and their communities. We used a transformative learning approach – encompassing ways of thinking, being and doing – in staff CPD. We integrated education for sustainable development into the institutional Academic Framework. Staff gained awareness of the importance of culture change and preparing students for present and future social-environmental challenges, such as climate change.

In this bottom-up and middle-up approach, we have worked to empower students to inspire change in the curriculum. Students co-created resources for staff and actively participated in sustainability events and workshops, enabling students and staff to see themselves as sustainable change-makers and advocates.

Top 3 Learnings

1. Showcasing students’ work inspired staff to commit to sustainability and understanding what it means.
2. Students felt empowered when activities were related to their reality, courses and involved external partners.
3. Our staff appreciated examples and support to identify sustainability in their disciplinary context and roles.