Open AccessDesigning and Implementing an Interfaculty Elective "Sustainable Development" Course at a University: Concepts, Developments and Lessons Learned
Author(s) -
Franz Rauch,
Wilfried Elmenreich,
Renate Hübner,
Michael Jungmeier,
Ema Gracner,
Robert Gennaro Sposato
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
action research and innovation in science education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2626-9902
DOI - 10.51724/arise.43
Subject(s) - sustainability , course (navigation) , sustainable development , engineering ethics , engineering management , discipline , medical education , computer science , knowledge management , sociology , medicine , engineering , political science , ecology , social science , law , biology , aerospace engineering
This paper describes the case of a university course addressing Sustainable Development (SD). This interdisciplinary and interfaculty elective course is meant to serve the purpose of teaching sustainability. At the same time, it is also intended to serve as an instrument for the implementation of sustainability at the University of Klagenfurt in Austria. The paper describes the conception and implementation of an interdisciplinary elective as a first appropriate step to implement SD at the University of Klagenfurt across disciplinary and structural barriers. Furthermore, the paper presents reflections of the course based on a series of interviews with the leading teaching team as well as the team's ongoing reflections. As it turns out: The major challenge is that a system based on individual freedom in research and teaching needs to intervene within its own system to create and initiate a new development.