Sustainability
Education

Preparing Agents
of Change

Graduates today are faced with an uncertain and complex future. The way our students learn and are taught must change to stay current and effective.

We need to prepare our students not only with the appropriate knowledge but also with the necessary skills, values, and attitudes that will enable them to confront future challenges while actively and creatively contributing to human and planetary well-being and sustainable societies.

Our Approach


Here at Frederick University, we aim for the holistic development of our students through an education with an emphasis on the 3H (Head, Heart, Hands).

We want our students to have the necessary knowledge (head) but at the same time, to have the appropriate skills (hands) and care (heart) so that, upon their graduation, they are able to face the turbulent future ahead but also -more importantly- they have the desire to become agents of change.

All three components are very important and, at Frederick University, there are different approaches through which they can be achieved:
- By incorporating the SDGs in the content of the curriculum and enabling the students to learn about sustainability whatever their program of study may be.
- By offering action-based learning initiatives that are based on student-centered learning and teaching (SCLT) pedagogical approach. By providing students the opportunity to work on real-world projects or to solve real-life challenges, we support students’ development of sustainability competencies.
- By providing specialized programs or courses that are focused on and address one or more SDG(s).

During the past three years, much emphasis was placed on:
- Developing policies, rules, and regulations that enable student-centered learning and teaching.
- Developing student-centered curriculum and pedagogy that help students develop the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that allow them to become committed to building a more sustainable future.
- Developing active learning spaces: Learning spaces at the University were adjusted and redesigned to encourage active learning.
- Empowering faculty members through professional development programs in integrating SDGs in their curriculum (and teaching) and in providing competence-based education for sustainable development.
- Developing collaborations and partnerships that will enable learners to engage with the community.

Frederick University ECOSYSTEM for ESDGs




Why Competence-Based Education for Sustainable Development?
In the academic year 2022-2023, Frederick University focused on developing sustainability competencies to empower learners to handle sustainability challenges and complexities. Education for Sustainable Development is about pedagogy as much as it is about teaching content. While learning about sustainability issues like climate, biodiversity, gender equality, health or water quality is critical, Education for Sustainable Development focuses on how we educate people as critical, creative, empowered citizens who can make real change in the world.

Competence is the ability to do something successfully or efficiently. It is a combination of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and/or personal traits demonstrated in a person’s behavior that allow them to achieve certain objectives in a work-related setting or other settings and conditions. In education, competencies are easily translated into measurable learning outcomes and can facilitate evaluation and assessment.
Competence Based Education for Sustainable Development aligns academic goals with urgent global challenges, enhances university curricula, and integrates critical thinking and real-world problem-solving into learning. It fosters adaptable, forward-thinking graduates equipped with a holistic understanding and the practical skills they need to positively operate in an increasingly complex world. Students benefit from the cross-disciplinary, integrative knowledge constructed, the ethical awareness raised and the sense of purpose and responsibility created. This approach also enhances employability, as sustainability competencies and skills developed are highly valued in a sustainability-conscious job market. Students develop innovation, collaboration, teamwork, and effective communication, competencies that help them become more versatile and impactful in their future careers.

At Frederick University we embrace sustainability education frameworks appropriate for the university context. One such example is FULL (Frederick University Living Lab).