ULiège strengthens its teaching on "sustainability and transition" themes

Two major innovations for the start of the 2024-2025 academic year: a compulsory 2-credit (ECTS) "Sustainability and Transition" course has been included in all bachelor's degree programs; in addition, almost 300 courses dedicated to or linked to sustainability have been identified in the course curricula of all Faculties.

Interdisciplinary online courses and practical applications

Education plays a central role in moving towards a sustainable and equitable world. With this in mind, the Université de Liège is including 2 compulsory "Sustainability and Transition" credits (ECTS) in all its bachelor's programs from the start of the new academic year.

The first of these 2 credits will take the form of an interdisciplinary online course, taught in French and English. This 5-hour tool, produced by CARE outils numériques, is made up of a series of video capsules, each around ten minutes long, bringing together no fewer than 54 experts from the University of Liège and a number of experts from civil society, under the academic coordination of Sybille Mertens, Advisor to the Rector on Social and Environmental Transition. This online course is structured in three modules.

• The first module provides a knowledge base for understanding the changes underway: planetary limits and social needs.
• The second module introduces a systems approach to the causes of these various environmental and social issues, with a focus on the food system.
• The third module focuses on the concepts of sustainable development and transition, and presents solutions and levers for action

This new online course is aimed primarily at baccalaureate students, but master's students can also apply to take it. It will also be offered to staff members, who will be able to take additional workshops to reflect on current practices and environmental and social issues in the world of work.

The second credit, compulsory for bachelor students, will be organized within the Faculties. It will address concrete solutions from a multidisciplinary perspective

Courses dedicated to or linked to sustainability better identified

Sustainability and transition issues are addressed in numerous courses taught at the University of Liège, in all Faculties. To make it easier for students to find their way around, and to give greater visibility to the range of courses on offer, courses dedicated to or linked with sustainability are now identified by a specific pictogram in the course syllabus.

This fall, over 100 courses dedicated to sustainability have been listed. These courses make explicit reference to sustainability and the interdependence of ecological and social systems. Over 200 sustainability-related courses have also been identified. They focus on subjects other than sustainability, but incorporate sustainability-related concepts, issues and challenges.

Thanks to this inventory work, which will be strengthened from year to year, students will find it easier to choose the courses that match their expectations in terms of sustainability. Course mapping also encourages the development of learning content and the exchange of teaching experience between teachers.