How to incorporate sustainability in your education within a short timeframe and with the right support system!
Written by GreenTU – Naomi Hubert and Rosa Weinzierl
Nobody achieves anything great alone - a saying that is always true, especially when it comes to dealing with sustainability! There is simply too much to do by yourself. Many lecturers wishing to incorporate more sustainability-related knowledge into their courses, will recognize this challenge. As a lecturer, you are not only a researcher and field expert, but you are also responsible for educating the engineers of the future. We, GreenTU, believe our future engineers should next to being technically savvy also be able to understand and manage the social, economic, and ethical side of sustainability issues. Only then can we find complete, effective, and fair solutions to perhaps our greatest challenge yet.
That’s all good and well, but how are you supposed to educate your students on these topics when your agenda is already overflowing? And what if you don’t know where to start? GreenTU is here to help you! In case you missed it: at the green office we are working hard to improve the sustainability performance of TU Delft in education, research, operations, and community engagement. Within education, we are proud to carry out the Green Thread initiative.
Through the Green Thread, we connect enthusiastic and capable teaching assistants to lecturers who wish to incorporate sustainability in the education they provide. Together with a teaching assistant, GreenTU helps you figure out how to adapt your course to incorporate more sustainability. We help you save loads of time by researching and implementing the best approach to achieve your goal; for example by carrying out a literature study on best practices or finding case studies to be used in your slides or assignments. This way, we aim to incorporate sustainability horizontally throughout the education provided at TU Delft.
Sounds too good to be true, right? We thought so too. However, after a successful pilot at the CEG and AS faculties during the academic year of 2020-2021, we now know this particular set up of support to incorporate sustainability in courses works. The Green Thread saves lecturers time and effort and gives both lecturers and young TA’s the exciting opportunity to learn from each other through the exchange of ideas and by discussing what exactly sustainability entails in your specific area of expertise. In the interview with dr. Daan Schraven, one of the participants in the Green Thread pilot at CEG, you can read how he incorporated sustainability in his education.
How great would it be if we can green-ify as many courses as possible across campus through small interventions? We believe even the smallest of steps can help TU Delft continue forward on its path towards becoming a frontrunner in the climate action movement. Educating engineers on sustainability in its entirety will generate a ripple effect, creating a long-lasting impact on society for the better. So we welcome you to join The Green Initiative and contribute to a sustainable future for all of us and future generations.
Do you want to know more about The Green Thread or GreenTU, or would you like to have a conversation with us about the support system we can set up for you and how we can incorporate sustainability in your education? Contact us at greentu@tudelft.nl or contact your faculty’s GreenTeam directly to get the conversation on green-ifying your education started!
