Green Gown Awards Australasia 2015 – Learning, Teaching and Skills - Winner

Sustainability Consortium for Learning Standards

Building national consensus for essential learning in tertiary sustainability education

The key output from this project is a set of inspiring yet workable standards for tertiary sustainability education that articulate what constitutes essential learning for sustainability in tertiary education. The process of crafting the standards was highly collaborative and participatory, leading to a consensus amongst stakeholders in sustainability education about what knowledge, understanding and skills are essential for graduates from tertiary programs in sustainability. The consortium is lead by The University of Newcastle and includes The Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors, Australian National University, Flinders University, Macquarie University and the University of New South Wales.

Top 3 learnings

1. In collaborative projects it is important to begin with an open mind.
2. Be as broad as possible in listening to stakeholders who may be affected by the
outcome of your project and make an extra, deliberate effort to hear from those whose voices may not be as loud as others.
3. Embrace complexity and contestation: they test your assumptions and will strengthen your final result.