Given the climate change the world is undoubtedly facing, the European Union urgently needs a skilled workforce with good sustainability skills. However, the problem is that there is a great shortage of workers with these skills, which hinders progress towards reaching these environmental skills. What’s more, the Higher Education (HE) environment is still not equipped to integrate these skills into their curricula.
In this context, our goal with the GREENDALE project is to support the development if sustainability skills by HE students in any subject area, using the EU’s Green Competences (GreenComp) framework created in 2022.
Implemented together with the Technical University of Kosice and ASTRA Association from Slovakia, the University of the Aegean and IDEC S.A. in Greece, as well as the Malta College of Arts Science and Technology, the specific objectives of this project are:
- To deliver updated higher education curricula that integrates sustainability skills with standard learning outcomes
- To implement enhanced internships/apprenticeships that also aim at developing the sustainability skills of students in the workplace, besides the learning objectives for the specific job they are training for
- To build the capacity of HE teachers on how to revise and update their courses integrating sustainability skills
- To build the capacity of company mentors on how to plan and organise internships / apprenticeships to develop sustainability skills in interns
The main activities that will be implemented in this sense, in all the 3 project partner countries (Slovakia, Greece, Malta) will include:
- Creation of a methodology and a handbook for HE teachers on how to make course revisions in order to include sustainability skills
- Creation of a methodology and a handbook aimed at company mentors on how to supervise internships attended by HE students, so as to develop sustainability skills in the workplace
- Organization of international training sessions and in-house workshops for HE teachers and company mentors to guide them on how to effectively implement the developed methodologies and handbooks.
- Pilot delivery to HE students of 6 revised courses during an academic semester
- Implementation of the sustainability skills enhanced internships under the supervision of trained company mentors.
The main target audience and beneficiary groups of this project will be:
- Higher Education teachers, staff and students
- Company trainers and internship/apprenticeship supervisors
- Sustainability professionals
The expected outcomes and impact of this project are:
- Raised awareness and competences on sustainability and greening among students, teachers and company mentors
- Raised awareness, understanding and practice of the applicability of GreenComp framework in Higher Education
- Raised awareness on the importance of complementary development of professional and sustainability competences among education and sustainability professionals (including policy-makers), as well as the general public.
A number of dissemination activities will run along the project duration, particularly at key milestones in its implementation, to stimulate the achievement of these outcomes and impact among the target groups. These will take place in all partner countries involved, both online and in-person. Thus, stay tuned for our
- Newsletters, media articles and interviews, scientific publications, social media campaigns on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram,
- Info Days for companies and students, final results multiplier events
- Presentations and leaflets distribution at third-party events
The key project results will also be made available here in downloadable format in all partner countries languages. These will consist of:
- A methodology and a handbook for lecturers to guide the revision of Higher Education courses curricula to integrate the development of sustainability competences within the overall learning outcomes.
- An internship methodology and a handbook for mentors to guide the development of sustainability skills of interns during their practical work experiences.
The GREENDALE project has started on 1st November 2024 and is planned to conclude on 31st October 2027. So, the best is yet to come! Check more details on our partners at https://greendimension.eu/ and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and/or Instagram and stay up to date with our latest news.