Diffusion into the Core: Living Labs as the Primary Pedagogy (EAUC Webinar)

20th Feb 2017 15:30 – 17:00

This webinar was originally due to take place on Wednesday 14th December 2016 and has now been rearranged . 

This webinar explored 3 leading examples of Living Labs through the perspectives of Katja Brundiers & Fletcher Beaudoin.

Katja spearheaded formalisation and expansion of the ‘Seed Sustainability’ programme at ETH Zurich, where companies paid for student projects on their sustainability issues. She also discussed the ‘solution-oriented sustainability problem’ (SOSL) curriculum development at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability, where the 4-year curriculum combines theory and real-world sustainability projects to give students a well-rounded educational experience.

Fletcher provided an insight into Portland State University’s highly-regarded Institute for Sustainable Solutions, where he is Assistant Director. Serving as a link between the city and university, the institute empowers effective community-university collaboration on climate change and sustainability.

Not only do Katja & Fletcher detail how both engagement projects were guided to success, but also demonstrate how any institution can achieve it.

Why should I attend?
The speakers are some of the most active, progressive and innovative educators and researchers in the field of Living Labs. They will provide insight into innovative solutions and approaches to classic barriers that have stood in the way of sustainability in education, estates & operations, and community engagement. The main focus will be on why practice-based sustainability education is crucial to integrate into the university-wide curriculum, and how that is achievable for all institutions.

Who is this webinar for?
This webinar is for academics, educators, estates & operations staff, university decision-makers, and other non-academic colleagues. Living Labs are cross-cutting initiatives that bring together and deliver benefits to all stakeholders. There will be an opportunity for discussion and questions during the webinar.
 
It is also open to students participating in or conducting research within the area of Living Labs.

What key learning outcomes will I take away from this webinar?

• An understanding of the possibilities for LL to be a highly effective pedagogy
• Appreciation of the challenges in implementing a LL, but also the viability of LL to be implemented at your institution
• Guided pathway to establishing a Living Lab, and the many ways and shapes it could take
• Additional tips and tricks to making a LL work

Speakers:
Katja Brundiers, Community-University Liaison, Arizona State University

Katja Brundiers is the Community-University Liaison for Arizona State University's School of Sustainability. In her work she develops and facilitates student-centered applied learning projects. These projects are carried out in collaboration with community partners and aspire to explore pathways to transforming practical sustainability problems. The project formats range from individual student projects, to team-projects, and course-based projects. Katja helped design and manage the project exchange platform SustainabilityConnect. 
 
Katja earned her PhD in Sustainability from the School of Sustainability on “Disasters as Opportunities for Change Towards Sustainability." She holds a master's degree in geography and anthropology from the University of Zurich. 
 
Before joining ASU, Katja headed up a boundary organization at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (Switzerland) that facilitated interdisciplinary student-centered collaborative research projects. Katja brings to the position her work experiences as a civil servant at the Swiss Federal Office for Spatial Development, consultant in a private planning agency, researcher in an international development research project for the government of Sri Lanka, and as a sustainability consultant to the University of British Columbia (Canada).  

Fletcher Beaudoin, Assistant Director, Institute for Sustainable Solutions, Portland State University

Fletcher Beaudoin is the Assistant Director of Portland State University’s Institute for Sustainable Solutions.  His work focuses on sustainability research, education, and community engagement, working to build productive partnerships between students, faculty and staff at PSU and sustainability practitioners in the community. He directs programs focused on scaling applied research and curriculum across the university and supports long-term planning and strategy development as well as day-to-day management for the Institute.

He received his BA in English and Spanish from the University of Oregon and his Masters of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy and Energy Policy from Columbia University.  He serves on the Oregon Environmental Council’s Emerging Leaders Board, the Lloyd EcoDistrict Board and also the Board for the Northwest Environmental Forum.


Hassan Waheed, Researcher, EAUC 

Hassan is responsible for the EAUC’s Living Labs and Sustainability Mapping projects, which aim to support UK universities by helping them to adapt a whole institution approach for sustainability.


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