Teaching
The diverse range of educational options in sustainability at the University of Basel is generating serious interest among students: over the past two years, more than 150 students have attended IMPULS-supported courses that integrate sustainability into teaching. The numbers of students attending sustainability-related courses to fulfill their elective credit requirements and students enrolled in the Master in Sustainable Development also increased.
Wide spectrum of sustainability-related topics
The range of sustainability-related study options offered by the University of Basel remained diverse in 2019 and 2020. More than 18 degree programs offered sustainability-related courses, some of which included their own specialization modules. About 80 courses were held per semester with a focus on sustainability or which addressed it in individual course modules. The Study Guide for Economic Sciences 2020 published by WWF Switzerland reported very high integration of sustainability issues in the mandatory and elective courses of economics degree programs at the University of Basel.
Sustainability in teaching
Sustainability course directory
In the sustainability course directory, students can find information about the courses offered on sustainable development at the University of Basel. An automated keyword search displays all sustainability-related courses per semester. The sustainability course directory was created by the Sustainability Office in collaboration with the Databases and Information Systems Research Group (DBIS Group, Prof. H. Schuldt), Student Services, and Weboffice. Programming of the automated keyword search was implemented by S. Coray and Dr. L. Probst (DBIS Group).
IMPULS
Since 2019, IMPULS has supported teaching staff in all disciplines at the University of Basel who want to integrate sustainability-related topics into their courses and organize student projects. The projects are developed based on the course topic by students in collaboration with project partners. Thanks to IMPULS, 11 courses were supported between the fall semesters of 2019 and 2020, despite the circumstances surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. More than 150 students developed and implemented about 30 projects in these courses through to December 2020. IMPULS is run by the Sustainability Office and is supported by funding from U Change (Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences) and the University of Basel.
I think it's fantastic that the Sustainability Office offers an initiative like this and helps us to develop different teaching methods, integrate sustainability topics into teaching and develop ourselves as lecturers. These 'impulses' bring a breath of fresh air and development into daily teaching and address questions of social responsibility. I, at least, was thrilled right away!
Dr. Katrin Sontag, lecturer «Migration, Mobility & Change», IMPULS 2019
Master in Sustainable Development
In the Master in Sustainable Development (MSD), the University of Basel offers a specialized degree program anchored equally in three faculties. The design of the master’s program, which is taught entirely in English, supports exchange across disciplinary borders and opens students’ eyes to matters of sustainable development around the world. The number of students pursuing this attractive degree program continued to increase in 2019 and 2020.
MSD
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59
49
56
61
78
TQNE – certificate course for students in all disciplines
Students can attend the Transfaculty Cross Section Program Sustainable Development (TQNE) in order to fulfill their elective credit requirements. Four courses explore diverse sustainability perspectives using the example of nutrition with a focus on practical applications. A certificate is awarded on successful completion. A communication campaign to improve the visibility of the program among students was launched in spring 2019. The number of participants increased substantially: two of the four courses were already at capacity in 2020. Here, students and lecturers share their exciting insights and experiences of the TQNE.
A: Perspectives of Natural Sciences on Sustainability
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33
27
26
26
44
B: Perspectives of Social Sciences on Sustainability
42
39
24
24
31
39
C: Perspectives of Economics on Sustainability
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16
9
8
10
21
D: Interdisciplinary Approach to Sustainability
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7
9
6
6
23
Lecture series: Plural Economics and Green Poetry
Current economics teaching is dominated by neoclassical methods and theories. To communicate alternative and sustainable schools of thought, students organized a lecture series financed by U Change with the help of the WWZ Office of the Dean of Studies of the Faculty of Business and Economics. Despite the difficult conditions in spring 2020, more than 100 people participated in the lecture series.
The lecture series Green Poetry offered by the Department of Languages and Literatures in the fall semester of 2020 delved into the relationship between humanity and nature in literature – particularly in relation to climate change. Literary studies observe, for example, the emergence of new terms that describe climate change and human influence on nature. The lecture series traced an arc from antiquity to contemporary literary and political debate.
Online programs
Four open online courses (MOOCs) offer students from the University of Basel, other universities and interested parties the opportunity to further explore research priorities in sustainability-related topics in an international environment.
Goals & actions
Make sustainability-related courses more visible and easier to find
Cataloging all courses related to sustainability and prepare a directory of these courses each semester; optimize communication about sustainability-related courses
Sustainability Office
DBIS Research Group
Student Services
Web Services
Successfully implement the IMPULS program for sustainability in teaching
Continue IMPULS funding for teaching staff with at least three courses per semester
Sustainability Office
Increase the number of students attending sustainability-related courses for elective credits
Improve communications, in particular by the Transfaculty Cross Section Program Sustainable Development (TQNE), e.g. UniNews, social media, information events, changes to course information, etc.
Sustainability Office
TQNE Leadership
Further development of expertise among lecturers in the area of sustainability & Sustainable Development Goals
Development of an academic training program in higher education (once per year). Training courses once a year; The two-day workshop will be held for the first time in FS 2021
Sustainability Office
Successfully implement the IMPULS program for sustainability in teaching
Funding for at least three courses per semester to the end of 2020
Sustainability Office
