Curriculum and Research

The University of Exeter is part of a consortium of five universities that has been awarded £200,000 from the Higher Education Funding Council for England, to develop an innovative strategic project in the field of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).  The ‘Leading Curriculum Change for Sustainability’ project will be undertaken in collaboration with the universities of Aston, Brighton, Gloucester and Oxford Brookes. Commencing in October 2010 and spanning two academic years until September 2012, the project will produce strategic guidance for universities and HE stakeholders, to drive ESD innovation and leadership and to build capacity to equip graduates with the sustainability skills they need for the future.

A suite of sustainability focussed modules have been identified through a University wide curriculum audit and are now promoted under the Enhanced Modularity scheme under the banner of SUSTAIN:ability. Students have the option to take a SUSTAIN:ability module that could compliment their programme of study and give it a relevant sustainability focus. A full list of SUSTAIN:ability modules has now been published on the sustainability website. This scheme will also help students to identify SUSTAIN:ability modules that are on offer within their own programmes of study. The Flexible Combined Honours programme will offer SUSTAIN:ability themes from 2011/12 under the tittle ‘Global Futures/Sustainability’

The ‘Big Dilemmas’ project is an exciting new interdisciplinary initiative that works collaboratively towards solving sustainability problems. This year, the ‘Big Dilemmas’ project focuses  on the 'Future of Renewable Energy in the UK' and the lessons that can be learned from the Severn Estuary tidal energy scheme. The project comprises the formation of prestigious Thinktank bringing together twenty students from a variety of disciplines, symposia, curriculum linked case studies and research projects. Lead academics from the Climate Change and Sustainable Futures research theme, external experts and stakeholders will join the meetings and will offer guidance to the participating student members. Students from across the University will also have the opportunity to be involved with this programme through the Big Dilemmas open access course on the Exeter Learning Environment. On the 3rd December, the first symposium will be held. Experts will give key notes on a variety of issues related to the ‘Future of Renewable Energy’