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The University of Gothenburg in short
• Large and broad
• Popular among students – among the highest applicants-per-
place ratio in the country
• Strong research
• One Nobel Prize recipient
• First university in Sweden to become environmentally certified
• A city university
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”Education for all” an important starting-
point
• The recognition of the importance of a sustainable
development (SD) is growing in all sectors of society
• To achieve the goals of a SD we need to give the right
prerequisites
• The higher education institutions have an important role in
providing knowledge, research and education
• Universities in Sweden have been given a special assignment
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Swedish higher education act
Higher education institutions should promote SD so that the
present and future generations are ensured a healthy
environment, economic and social welfare and justice.
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The University of Gothenburg aims for a
leading position in Europe
• Started in the 1970s with education in environmental
protection and management
• Cutting-edge research in many of the fields of SD
• Environmental policy and special plan for SD guide our actions
• Works actively to introduce the concept of SD into the
educational process in all disciplines
• During the last decade not only environmental but also social
and cultural aspects of sustainability have been integrated
• Global focus and cooperation with developing countries
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Our vision is the base
• SD in focus and essential in all we do
• Our standpoints and decisions shall be based on a clear
responsibility for the development of society
• Systematic work to integrate SD in all educational courses and
programs
• By multidisciplinary research we contribute to the solving of
societal challenges and a sustainable development
• SD is a question of quality
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Teachers are a key factor
• Teachers a key group - can influence students for 40 years!
• Teacher education programs at the University of Gothenburg
have had SD courses for many years
• A new teacher education program is being launched that will
implement SD for all types of teachers
• A majority of departments are involved in teacher education,
will help to implement SD throughout the university
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Examples of what we do…
• UNESCO professor Ingrid Pramling–Samuelsson worked
within UN to promote the idea of Early childhood education for
a sustainable future
• Our School of Business, Economics and Law, have
educational objectives of SD inscribed into all programs as a
key skill required from every student
• Our medical faculty has developed a toolbox to help teachers
integrate SD in their education. Now being scaled up to the
university level
• The number of scientific articles within SD increased from less
than 100 five years ago to more than 200 last year
• 21 percent of all courses sustainability labeled in 2013
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SMIL – a bachelor program in
Environmental Social Science
• Integrating Social sciences and Environmental Sciences
• 5 majors
– Business Administration - environmental management
– Economics - environmental economics
– Cultural Geography - environmental planning
– Political Science - environmental politics
– Human Ecology
• 60 students per year
• Top score in the 2013 national quality evaluation
• The students popular on the labour market – job within a year
after exam
• Next step to move from Environmental to Sustainable
Development, adding also a Master program in SD
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A lot has to do with environment
• From 1998 we started to set up goals for our energy use
• Environmentally certified since 2004
• A climate strategy adopted in 2010
• Target to lower emissions of carbon dioxide from energy use
and travels with 20 percent until 2015 almost already achieved
• Our animal house awarded for energy efforts. Energy
consumption reduced by 26 percent from 2009 to 20013
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Networking another key to success
• A joint centre, the Centre for Environment and Sustainability, GMV,
with Chalmers University of Technology where more than 400
researchers cooperate for the sake of SD
• Regional Centre Expertise, RCE, started in 2012 as a network of
Education for SD in the region and with other RCE’s worldwide
• Member of the prestigious network International Sustainable
Campus Network, ISCN
• Participate in various international initiatives and meetings
– In 2015 we will host the 8th World Environmental Education
Congress
• Together with Chalmers we hold several UNESCO Chairs within
SD
