Sustainability in education, a multidisciplinary match made in Aalto
Aalto is running full steam ahead towards its 2020 goal of having sustainability content within each of the master’s and bachelor's programs.
Along with helping to create the game-changers of the future, the Aalto sustainability task force has addressed how to implement sustainability and the circular economy into the Aalto education strategy. There are already several study choices at Aalto for those who want to dive right into the challenges of the future, with programs such as Creative Sustainability, Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering, and Innovative and Sustainable Energy Engineering.
While those options incorporate sustainability on a more direct basis, Aalto is thinking forward with the implementation of sustainability across all study programs in a multidisciplinary approach. The new strategy will help address a diverse array of societal challenges by increasing collaboration and dialogue between all the different scientific fields and social actors within the university.
The task force has outlined three sustainability logics to allocate within the program offerings, depending on the field, and are distinguished as such:
Baseline: Ability to relate to and engage with
At the baseline level, whether at the bachelor or master's level, all Aalto graduates need to be sustainability literate and alert, regardless of their primary discipline and emphasis is put on sustainability literacy being integrated into the context of all mandatory courses.
Advanced/Specialist: Ability to translate and implement
Specific sustainability studies are on offer for students who want to go beyond the baseline level and expand their competencies in their disciplines or departments.
Challenge-oriented generalist: Ability to challenge and transform
It’s in these studies where the concept of the game-changer really comes into play! Students will enter a program that is explicitly dedicated to sustainability, and which builds on several disciplines, paradigms and competence areas to help propel them beyond the advanced level of being a sustainability specialist in their domain.