The ‘Embedding Sustainability in Teaching’ grant program attracted a great deal of interest from new initiatives targeting interdisciplinary approaches for sustainability teaching across Flinders.

One of the Learning and Teaching goals of the Flinders University 2030 Sustainability Strategy is to further embed sustainability in our curriculum, with the grants administered within the Sustainability Advisory Group.

Congratulations to Dr Afrooz Bayat, Associate Professor Gareth Butler and Professor Huade Guan who were the recipients of this year’s grants.

Gamified Sustainability Laboratory – Dr Afrooz Bayat

This project develops a gamified virtual lab consisting of three-layered digital multidisciplinary sustainability games, to be used to teach sustainability principles and strategies. It will then be added to existing topics, possibly as Major or Minor course components, that can be used in a variety of disciplines.  The games will include an interactive role-playing component where students can take the roles of different stakeholders to achieve sustainable development goals. At the conclusion of the project, the game will be maintained and made available to other colleges and disciplines, with the potential to add additional expansions.

Mapping SDG Pilot Project – Associate Professor Gareth Butler
The project will design and trial a universally applicable methodology for the mapping of SDGs in all topics and courses across the University, using a targeted selection of topics (n=57) and programs (n=8) across all six Colleges. This mapping will enable program coordinators to integrate sustainability principles more effectively in their curricula, fostering a deeper understanding of economic, environmental and social justice goals. This aims to help students connect their studies to the SDGs, promoting the positive transformation of individuals, communities and societies.

Flinders Lake as a Living Lab – Professor Huade Guan

The project will use the Flinders Lake as a living lab to embed sustainability concepts into teaching and learning in undergraduate and postgraduate topics, honours and postgraduate project training, and outreach activities. Some relevant sustainability concepts include stormwater harvesting and reuse, water sensitive urban design (WSUD), renewable energy, environmental economics and biodiversity conservation. The project will produce new materials which can be used in approximately 20 topics across multiple courses. In addition, the project will produce outreach materials for sustainability education, improving our engagement with external networks.