by Dr. Libby Pearson
THE (Times Higher Education) recently published its Sustainability Impact Dashboard, a tool to empower universities to achieve their sustainability goals. Sustainability and our impact on climate change has always been at the heart of BMC’s vision for education of the future. Our curriculum is crafted to support both the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and the Well-Being for Future Generations Act (WBFG) .
Why did we do this?
We believe that sustainability is intrinsic in everything we do and must be embodied by our learners. Education is an essential element of the global response to climate change. It helps people understand and address the impact of global warming, increases “climate literacy” among young people, encourages changes in their attitudes and behaviour, and helps them adapt to climate change-related trends. BMC aims to help learners understand the causes and consequences of climate change, to prepare them to live with the impacts of climate change and empower our learners to take appropriate actions to adopt more sustainable lifestyles.
How did we do it?
We have aligned our curriculum to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and the Well-Being for Future Generations Act (WBFG) to ensure that climate change is at the centre of our education and to encouraging innovative teaching approaches.
Our curriculum raises awareness about climate change and its impact on the whole of society – the economy, culture and all our systems and crucially, the well being of future generations. The education model is designed to empower students both for their individual well-being, and to enable them to make decisions and forge careers to effect positive changes on wider society and practices.
The Model
Learning will, where practical, be in the outdoors in the context of nature, living ecosystems and communities. Our graduates will embody sustainability as they forge their future and careers while having an awareness and understanding of the wider world – and their place in it. BMC graduates will take an active role in their communities, and work with others to make our planet more equal, fair and sustainable.
Final Year Project
The BMC Final Year undergraduate project has its roots in the Welsh Government’s Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Students have the opportunity to undertake real-life projects that support the strengthening of resilience and adaptability in relation to climate hazards across communities, nationally and globally. The aim is for our graduates of to be the future change makers, policy advisers, ambassadors for our planet and citizens shaping national and global policies that directly influence climate recovery.
If this has grabbed your attention and you’d like to know more, we’d love to hear from you please email.