Sustainability Education in a Global Era

We live in an era of expanding globalization. The interconnectedness of the world has been increased in all aspects of life. The International Monetary Fund identified four basic aspects of globalization: trade and transactions, capital and investment movements, migration and movement of people, and the dissemination of knowledge. [1] For the United States to continue to be at the forefront of science and technology, global education is of extraordinary importance. Therefore, we must develop a workforce of engineering students with the skills and knowledge needed for a more responsible and competitive participation in the international research setting of the twenty-first century. [2] Education, culture, employment opportunities, and international trade and connectivity are among the several benefits that globalization has on our lifestyle. Despite the benefits, globalization also contributes to the challenges for the century ahead. Globalization has fostered faster production, trade and consumption of material goods unparalleled in our collective history. This has increased the ecological footprint of human activities accentuating the major environmental challenges that we experience – such as global warming, crossboundary water and air pollution, all of which await engineering solutions. [3] The survival of the human race is directly dependent on the environment, and it is commonly agreed that education is the most effective means that society possesses to confront the challenges of the future. Therefore, sustainability education plays a key role in shaping the world of tomorrow. This paper describes a number of pioneering education, training and outreach initiatives in the area of sustainability being implemented at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).