The University of Edinburgh

Case Studies in Sustainable Development

Case Studies in Sustainable Development is an innovative postgraduate course that provides students with an insight into how sustainable development is applied in practice. Through a variety of learning pedagogies and different methods of assessments, students are provided with the chance to develop and apply UNESCO’s competencies for sustainable development, such as collaboration, critical thinking and systems thinking. As part of the course, students work with the University’s Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability on group projects across a variety of sustainable development issues across operations, staff, and student engagement, learning and teaching, research and partnership.

The course has been running since 2008 and feedback from students has been consistently positive, reflecting the benefits of a creative and forward looking approach to learning and assessment.

Top 3 Learnings

1. If we provide students with assessments with real-world application, they develop broader learning competencies.
2. Our sustainability projects provide opportunities for creativity thinking and transferable skills for green jobs.
3. I learned the value of experiential learning comes from unanticipated, real-world, and unplanned student reflections.