No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
4. Transformative learning and leadership for a sustainable future: Challenge Lab at Chalmers University of Technology
... C-Lab had been established as a collective learning space where students, teachers, designers and stakeholders gravitate around complex sustainability challenges. It is a master's level space, developed within Chalmers University of Technology and, until quite recently, sitting physically in between different organizations and institutions in West Sweden (Holmberg, 2014). At the in-between, C-Lab seeks to produce space for students to think beyond their inherited disciplines. ...
... Given their situatedness, labs can be understood as certain kinds of spaces. As part of these conversations, learning can be traced to an eclectic mix of literature from sociotechnical experimentation (Brown et al., 2003), strategic niche management van den Bosch & Rotmans, 2008), social/reflexive governance literature (Collins & Ison, 2009;Voss & Kemp, 2005), education for sustainable development (ESD) (Holmberg, 2014;Wals, 2015;Lotz-Sisitka et al., 2015) and adaptive and collaborative governance (Reed, 2008;Ison et al., 2015) Social, transformative, transgressive learning ...
... Second, this study built upon design ambitions of the lab, as a combination of space, process and way of organization. Empirically, it included course syllabi, previous articles on C-Lab (Holmberg, 2014;Holmén et al., 2021) and design meeting notes that began in 2018. Finally, design experiences provided an opportunity to consider observational data from course workshops and seminars, as well as ongoing reflective outputs during design and course terms. ...
We live in a time of compounding ecological and social change. Given the uncertain and
urgent nature of ongoing transformations, contemporary forms of governance are
experiencing a central tension. The tension between controlling the present and nurturing
collective capacities to enact transformative change. Amidst a wave of interest in transitions
and transformations in-the-making, labs in real-world contexts have entered the discussion.
Labs have emerged as appealing, novel and highly complex entities that situate and localize
engagement around complex sustainability challenges. Labs carry a systemic view of
change; they comprise alternative and experimental approaches; they carry a normative
assumption that research has plural roles; and they hold an explicit learning orientation that
infuses knowledge with action.
Given the unfolding of labs in the real world, my involvement in their design, and ongoing
interests in treating both meanings and processes of sustainability, this thesis is organized
around a curiosity. Its overarching aim is to investigate how sustainability-oriented labs
could be unpacked, designed and evaluated in the context of sustainability transitions and
transformations. Underlaboured by a critical realist philosophy of science, this thesis
investigates sustainability-oriented labs by way of a qualitative-dominant, case-based
research strategy. It does this across three overlapping research phases, culminating in four
appended papers.
In research phase one, we adopt a systematic review of sustainability-oriented labs in real-world contexts, exploring and classifying a global sample of labs according to their
engagement with sustainability. In paper II, we identify and unpack 53 sustainability-oriented
labs in real-world contexts. Through a mixed-methods analysis, we explore the
distribution and diversity of these labs, discerning the research communities which
conceptualize labs and the dimensions of their practice. In Paper III, we present an
empirically grounded typology, arriving at six different types of sustainability-oriented labs:
1) Fix and control, 2) (Re-)Design and optimize, 3) Make and relate, 4) Educate and engage,
5) Empower and govern and 6) Explore and shape.
In research phase three, paper II presents a qualitative case-based inquiry into Challenge
Lab (C-Lab), a challenge-driven learning environment. Paper II conceptualizes challenge
framing as embedded within an open-ended learning process, both on a level of practice
and space. Experiences related to framing in C-Lab shed light on how students situate
themselves and see their role within existing challenges, how they navigate limits to
knowledge in complex systems, and how they self-assess their own sense of comfort and
progress. In addition, we introduce three dilemmas that are not owned by teachers or
students but emerge, as contradiction, within the learning space.
In research phase three, paper IV presents a multi-case comparison of evaluation practices
in various sustainability transition initiatives. We conceptualize and compare the role of
evaluation as a tool that can enhance the transformative capacity of sustainability-oriented
labs and its broader family of transition experiments.
This thesis and its appended papers provide practical-experiential, empirical-conceptual
and methodological contributions on the topic of sustainability-oriented labs in real-world
contexts. In addition, it contains a layered account of an undisciplinary doctoral journey. I
do this by (1) reflecting upon each research phase, (2) providing transparent accounts of
positionality in relation to my research, (3) conceptualizing and reflecting upon
undisciplinarity as a process of becoming, and (4) providing a mobile autoethnographic
account of staying on the ground as part of a broader commitment to interrogate
knowledge practices. Moving forward, I find myself motivated by three convictions: (1)
transformations are needed, and labs are invitations in between dualisms, (2) invitations
hold the possibility of flipping big assumptions and ethical practices, and (3)
transformations presuppose fundamental change from within both research and education
knowledge systems. They hinge upon the questioning of what both are, who they are for,
and what they might need to become. In conclusion, they compel us think big, start small,
and act now.
... C-Lab emerged through strategic efforts of Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden to enhance its institutional capacity and relevance for complex sustainability challenges and societal transformations (Holmberg, 2014). It sought to integrate three constitutive elements of the "knowledge triangle": research, education, and outreach/innovation. ...
... It sought to integrate three constitutive elements of the "knowledge triangle": research, education, and outreach/innovation. Underpinned by a capability to be challenging yet unthreatening in real-world contexts, C-Lab students were positioned uniquely when openly questioning stakeholders around a complex issue and learning about how systems do and should work (Holmberg, 2014;Larsson and Holmberg, 2018). Disciplinary backgrounds are de-emphasized in this environment, done with the recognition that transdisciplinarity transgresses disciplines as deterministic categories, where challenges require diverse forms of knowledge and experience (Lotz-Sisitka et al., 2015;Ross and Mitchell, 2018). ...
... Within the course, we combine both formative and summative assessments as part of an integrated evaluation strategy. Formative assessment takes place through weekly expectation and reflection sessions, organized according to a check-in, check-out structure (Holmberg, 2014). In addition, a storywall approach was adopted to jointly visualize and sense-make in the co-production of knowledge using a learning journey perspective. ...
Complex sustainability challenges may never be fully solved, rather requiring continuous, adaptive, and reflexive responses over time. Engagement of this nature departs from well-structured problems that entail expected solutions; here, focus shifts toward ill-structured or ill-defined issues characterized by wickedness. In the context of complex challenges, inadequate or absent framing has performative implications on action. By overlooking the value of framing, eventual responses may not only fall short; they may even displace, prolong, or exacerbate situations by further entrenching unsustainability. In educational settings, we know little about how curriculum designs support challenge framing, and how students experience and learn framing processes. In this paper we explore a transdisciplinary “Challenge Lab” (C-Lab) curriculum from a perspective of challenge framing. When considering framing in higher education, we turn to the agenda in education for, as and with sustainable development to be problem-solving, solutions-seeking or challenge-driven. We introduce framing as a boundary object for transformative praxis, where sustainability is held to be complex and contextual. This study is qualitative and case-based, designed to illuminate processes of and experiences into sustainability challenge framing in a transdisciplinary learning setting. Methodologically, we draw from student reflective diaries that span the duration of a curriculum design. We structure our results with the support of three consecutive lenses for understanding “curriculum”: intended, enacted, and experienced curriculum. First, we present and describe a C-Lab approach at the level of ambition and design. Here it is positioned as a student-centered space, process, and institutional configuration, working with framing and re-framing complex sustainability challenges in context. Second, we present a particular C-Lab curriculum design that unfolded in 2020. Third, we illustrate the lived experiences and practical realities of participating in C-Lab as students and as teachers. We reflect upon dilemmas that accompany challenge framing in C-Lab and discuss the methodological implications of this study. Finally, we point toward fruitful research avenues that may extend understandings of challenge framing in higher education.
... Placing such challenges at the centre in C-Lab, learning unfolds in interaction with researchers and societal actors. C-Lab shares most ESD ambitions (Holmberg, 2014); a previous study into three student-led cases indicated that C-Lab has the potential for meaningful student learning and contributions to sustainability transformations in society . The engineering education community is witnessing a similar surge of interest in sustainability-oriented education and learning approaches (Hadgraft and Kolmos, 2020). ...
... First, a combination of ethnographic methods, including interviews and observations, were used to elicit student learning experiences in C-Lab. Second, this data was augmented with an indepth understanding of the program theory underpinning C-Lab (Holmberg, 2014;Larsson and Holmberg, 2018), meaning an understanding of how C-Lab "works" from a teacher perspective, to provide insight into how and why these learning experiences come aboutthat is, insight into learning mechanisms. Finally, literature on ESD and societal transformations was reviewed to delineate potential learning outcomes stemming from Challenge Lab curriculum these learning mechanisms. ...
... C-Lab is part of a longer tradition of the university seeking to transform and build institutional capacity towards relevance on societal challenges (Holmberg, 2014;Holmberg et al., 2012). Via a preparatory course and master's thesis lab [1], C-Lab supports and creates space for students across educational backgrounds to build leadership capabilities in engaging with societal sustainability-transition challenges in multi-stakeholder settings. ...
Purpose
While sustainability-oriented education is increasingly placing importance on engaging students in inter- and transdisciplinary learning processes with societal actors and authentic challenges in the centre, little research attends to how and what students learn in such educational initiatives. This paper aims to address this by opening the “black box” of learning in a Challenge Lab curriculum with transformational sustainability ambitions.
Design/methodology/approach
Realist evaluation was used as an analytical frame that takes social context into account to unpack learning mechanisms and associated learning outcomes. A socio-cultural perspective on learning was adopted, and ethnographic methods, including interviews and observations, were used.
Findings
Three context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations were identified, capturing what students placed value and emphasis on when developing capabilities for leading sustainability transformations: engaging with complex “in-between” sustainability challenges in society with stakeholders across sectors and perspectives; navigating purposeful and transformative change via backcasting; and “whole-person” learning from the inside-out as an identity-shaping process, guided by personal values.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper can inform the design, development, evaluation and comparison of similar educational initiatives across institutions, while leaving room for contextual negotiation and adjustment.
Originality/value
This paper delineates and discusses important learning mechanisms and outcomes when students act as co-creators of knowledge in a sustainability-oriented educational initiative, working with authentic challenges together with societal actors.
... Related to this, there are research interests in better understanding what students learn in such processes and why, as well as how knowledge and experience from such curriculum models can be transferred, scaled and mainstreamed across institutions and contexts (Agbedahin & Lotz-Sisitka, 2019;Mickelsson et al., 2019;O'Donoghue et al., 2019;Tilbury, 2016). In this thesis, I draw from a particular curriculum innovation initiative with a transformational sustainability orientation sharing most ESD ambitions: Challenge Lab (C-Lab) at Chalmers University of Technology (Holmberg, 2014). I also hold a general emphasis on social learning processes in the framing of the appended papers and thus of this Kappa, further highlighted in the discussion chapter. ...
... The space for learning becomes the 'in-between' space situated around a complex challenge or question of concern on a systems level in a local/regional context. The challenge identification and framing process is pursued by students, with stakeholders invited to take part and exchange perspectives in dialogue, guided by a backcasting methodology where students move through a series of steps and actions from insideout and outside-in perspectives (Holmberg, 2014). ...
... Kahane, 2012). In Challenge Lab, for example, Holmberg (2014) reminds us that such integration may be achieved by approaching the world from an 'outside-in' (sustainability objectives, systems analysis, leverage points, etc.) and 'inside-out' (values, dialogue, co-creation, etc.) perspective. ...
Complex and persistent sustainability challenges necessitate transformations into futures that are fundamentally different to what was before. Such change processes cannot be planned in traditional ways; they require reflexive modes of governing where we collectively learn how to navigate uncharted terrain while exploring it.
The aim of this thesis is to contribute knowledge on how sustainability transformations can be navigated in practice. Such efforts are essentially transdisciplinary where actors across sectors, perspectives and disciplines are brought together around a complex issue, question or challenge of concern in context. By drawing from knowledge and experience on how systems develop and the possibility to influence how they should develop, such processes seek to both understand and address complex challenges by means of resolving problematic situations and transforming established systems, structures and practices. Efforts to navigate sustainability transformations in practice are far from straightforward; they require adequate conditions including methodological support to become meaningful as well as impactful.
This thesis builds upon a backcasting from principles methodology to support engagement with complex sustainability challenges and transformations. It recognises the transdisciplinary condition of reflexive governance and the contextual contingency of such practices. It is underlaboured with critical realism and a systems-based approach and approaches deliberate and purposeful attempts to navigate transformations as processes of transformative social learning. Further, the thesis puts key attention to issues of Education for Sustainable Development.
The thesis adheres to an ethnographic research tradition with qualitative/intensive research designs, guided by three interrelated methodological moves: (1) initial engagement with cases focusing on gathering experiences from participating actors and societal effects from backcasting processes in their wider governance and learning setting, educational as well as informal; (2) conceptual development to enhance backcasting processes in transdisciplinary settings, with focus on how guiding principles for sustainability can be collectively negotiated, and; (3) analytical deepening to better understand and explain how and why experiences and effects are generated in backcasting processes with attention to their surrounding contexts. These three methodological moves resulted in five research papers, for which I dedicate this thesis to position and further discuss.
The main contributions of this thesis are: (1) a positioning of a principles-based purposeful, systemic, transformative and reflexive praxis with an associated and further developed backcasting from principles methodology. This methodology consists of a series of suggested steps, actions, guiding questions, qualities and features that seek to enhance the way complex sustainability challenges can be addressed to make efforts of navigating sustainability transformations in practice meaningful and impactful; (2) studies into a concrete curriculum model with transformational sustainability ambitions, Challenge Lab, whose curriculum design has been further conceptualised and mechanisms of learning empirically investigated. The curriculum design and associated mechanisms of learning may support the design, development, evaluation and comparison of educational initiatives that seek to create space for students to engage with complex sustainability challenges in their authentic societal context in open-ended processes together with societal actors, and; (3) an exploration of the necessity and potential value of comparing processes, effects and impacts from transformative, transdisciplinary and reflexive governance initiatives across contexts to better establish what works, for whom and why. Such knowledge moves beyond cumulation of knowledge on the particular methods and tools deployed in cases, into underlying features and mechanisms on which knowledge may be cumulated, generalised and transferred across cases and contexts.
Finally, navigating sustainability transformations in practice is as much dependent on our collective capability of stepping back to reflect by asking questions of why, as stepping forward to act by asking questions of how. This thesis introduces a further interest in exploring whether, how and to what extent backcasting as methodological frame may guide the concrete design of transdisciplinary sustainability-oriented initiatives and condition processes of transformative social learning.
... 'Social labs' are further characterised by Hassan (2014) as social (the actors actively participate, not just as experts but as co-creators), experimental (solutions are developed and prototyped in an iterative process) and systemic (solutions should not only mitigate symptoms or parts of problems but aim to identify and address the root cause of the problems). Examples of such labs are the Vancouver CityStudio (Moore, Van Wynsberghe, and Holden 2007), which focuses on urban development, the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, OpenLab (Berglund and Bernhard 2015), which leans more strongly towards multidisciplinary business and product development in Information Technology (IT) and the Life Sciences, and Chalmers Challenge Lab (Holmberg 2014;Kohn Rådberg 2014), which focuses on specific aspects of urban development and is described in greater detail below. ...
... The goal of Chalmers Challenge Lab is to establish an arena where students interact with actors in society, with the aim to create student learning as well as transformative and integrative values for sustainable development. The Challenge Lab aims to address the complex societal sustainability challenges, through the integration of multiple perspectives of relevant stakeholders as well as sustainability issues to enhance a societal transformation towards sustainability (Holmberg 2014;Kohn Rådberg 2014;Kohn Rådberg et al. 2015;Larsson and Holmberg Forthcoming). The Challenge Lab is based on a back-casting approach starting from sustainability principles (Holmberg 1998). ...
... Challenge Lab can be compared to 'social labs' (Hassan 2014), being social, i.e. with the actors actively participating, not just as experts but as co-creators, experimental, i.e. with solutions that are developed and prototyped in an iterative process, and systemic, i.e. with the aim that solutions not only mitigate symptoms or parts of the problems but identify and address the root cause of the problems. However, some additional specific features of Chalmers' Challenge Lab which extend the arena beyond that of other social labs are that students spend much effort on formulating sustainability criteria and research questions based on sustainability challenges that they identify when applying a backcasting approach from sustainability principles (Holmberg 2014;Larsson and Holmberg Forthcoming). ...
Challenge-based learning (CBL) is a multidisciplinary approach that encourages students to work actively with peers, teachers and stakeholders in society to identify complex challenges, formulate relevant questions and take action for sustainable development. In this paper, it is argued that CBL can be viewed as an evolution of the Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate concept, expanding as well as deepening the learning experience. The study reported on investigates the multiple aims of a particular CBL environment (the Challenge Lab at Chalmers University of Technology), which are to combine significant student learning and societal transformation. The results show that the students perceive that they have developed deep skills in problem formulation and sustainable development, as well as working across disciplines and with different stakeholders. Moreover, the study shows that although few student projects reach implementation stage, there is a potential for societal impact both during and after the Challenge Lab learning experience.
... Also referred to as the knowledge triangle. These capacities makes it natural for universities to take on a special role in building regional knowledge clusters in a neutral, open and inviting way (Holmberg, 2014). Not least the university students might have a unique role in the transitions, as they can be a "bonding medium" building trust between stakeholders in the triple helix and question mental models. ...
... To bring forth the potential that students possess, they need space for change and to be trusted as change agents. It is also helpful for them to operate from a neutral arena (Holmberg, 2014). Universities with their students thus have the potential to play an important role in dealing with both the system-and the normative lockin described. ...
... This represents the first two steps of backcasting (figure 1) (Holmberg, 1998). (Holmberg, 1998) The backcasting process in the lab is embedded with an outside-in and inside-out dimension (Holmberg, 2014). The outside-in part includes knowledge, methods and tools to understand and deal with the requirements global sustainability will put on the system. ...
We present a model where master students act as change agents, inducing sustainability transitions in socio-technical systems by applying backcasting. Creating transitions in a complex socio-technical system, where universities need to collaborate with the public-and private sector (the triple helix) is often hindered by various kinds of lock-ins. In Sweden, previous attempts to solve this include companies, governmental bodies and researchers acting individually to bring together stakeholders to dislodge these lock-ins. To complement this, a neutral " Challenge Lab " arena was created, where master students run transformative backcasting projects. Interviews with triple helix stakeholders were conducted. Industrial stakeholders claim the students were in a unique position as unthreatening, yet challenging. Academic stakeholders highlight students as unravelling issues and going deeper in the questions resulting in quicker processes and trust in their own dialogue work. Public sector stakeholders claim dialogue resulted in true personal opinions coming to the surface and another stakeholder modified their overall climate strategy as a result of the change agent dialogue. The study indicates that students are unthreatening yet challenging change agents, catalysing trust on various triple helix system levels. Other universities can adopt this model for engaging in sustainability transitions.
... The Challenge Lab forms an integral part of the strategy taken by Chalmers University of Technology towards sustainable development. The aim of the Challenge lab is to become a hub for the triple helix actors (Academia, Industry and Society), where students can challenge the status quo of society on a trust based environment towards a sustainable future (Holmberg, 2014). The lab is physically located at Kuggen in Lindholmen campus in Gothenburg and connected to Lindholmen Science Park. ...
... Step 4: Find strategies towards sustainability Figure 1 Backcasting tools for transformative leadership. Adapted from Holmberg (2014) The first step focuses on define a future vision, even though it cannot be predicted the precise outcomes, sustainability principles are used as a foundation for creating the future vision. Second, the present situation is mapped in order to understand the gap between current and desired situation. ...
Around 90% of the total costs of commercial buildings´ operations are attributed to the staff in terms of salaries and benefits. Energy-related behaviors of building occupants are directly related to high fluctuations of energy consumption in buildings. Evidently, Green buildings and upcoming sustainable building technologies will need to justify their impact on the occupants´ energy consumption along the whole building´s lifecycle. This MSc Thesis explores the relation between Wellbeing and energy-related behaviors during the operation and maintenance phase of the building. The aim is to find practices applicable to operations management that will have a positive impact on the occupant´s Wellbeing while fostering lower energy consumption. First, through an extensive literature review, this report organizes relevant concepts, theories and frameworks. Afterwards, the Center for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) is presented as a case study via the operation strategies undertaken to ensure health and comfort of the occupants. Semi-structured interviews with the post-occupancy evaluator and operations director at CIRS were performed. The interviews focused on the implications of applying such strategies and their relations. The results are presented via a 5-step framework highlighting awareness, competence and meaningfulness when operational strategies aim to ensure the wellbeing of occupants. Moreover, the CIRS strategies were organized in two frameworks (CAS & PAS). This, to visualize the processes and roles involved in the assessment of Wellbeing and energy-related behaviors. Finally, the applicability of the learned strategies from CIRS on the Swedish context is presented. A semi-structured interview was conducted with the environmental strategist on a Real Estate company in Gothenburg. The operational strategies and occupant´s practices involving Wellbeing and energy-related behaviors were identified. In order to progressively adapt the overall results in Gothenburg, a set of managerial recommendations and transitional practices is proposed.
... Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, has by tradition engaged in societal challenges. In 2014, Chalmers initiated the Challenge Lab (Holmberg, 2014) as part of a whole-ofuniversity approach. The purpose of Challenge Lab is to strengthen the educational dimension in the "education-research-outreach" triangle, become an important hub where actors from academia and the public and private sectors gather around the students, build trust among stakeholders, and give students the opportunity to develop unique capabilities in working across disciplines with a sustainability-driven approach. ...
... Challenge Lab follows a backcasting approach (Holmberg, 1998) (Fig. 1) facilitated and guided by a team of teachers. The process starts with a first phase (4 weeks) during which the students follow the four steps in the backcasting approach from two perspectives: outside-in to understand what requirements global sustainability will put on various systems, and inside-out to understand how to cope with one's own values, strengths and visions and to manage dialogue between actors within the systems (Holmberg, 2014). The criteria for sustainability (step 1) are represented in the form of a framework of non-overlapping sustainability principles in the four dimensions of ecology, economy, society and well-being. ...
To achieve a sustainable future, a variety of societal systems need to be transformed and new ways of social collaboration created. Higher education institutions play an important role in guiding these changes, through education, research, and outreach. In this paper, we study a lab-based learning environment, the Challenge Lab, where master’s degree students engage in, and create value in support of, the transition to a sustainable society. Three student cases are analyzed in-depth to understand how the Lab functions as an expansive learning process and provides space for transformative and integrative value creation. The Lab’s guiding methodology is based on backcasting from principles, combined with clarifying the students’ core values and drivers. The role of the teacher in such a learning environment is to provide the basis for the process by facilitating and guiding. Provided with the right conditions, these students have the ability to challenge underlying assumptions about how systems work and to build trust by facilitating dialogue among actors in society. The students perceived the opportunity to engage in real-world challenges as meaningful, drew valuable lessons for their future, and got to know themselves better. In this transitional period of achieving ambitious sustainability goals and targets, students’ ability to be a source of change – maybe the most important source inside higher education institutions – deserves much more attention.
... Ini memungkinkan koordinasi yang lebih baik antara fakultas dan departemen, mengurangi duplikasi data, dan meningkatkan aksesibilitas semua pemangku kepentingan ke informasi. Selain itu, sistem manajemen akademik yang terintegrasi memungkinkan lembaga pendidikan untuk lebih beradaptasi dengan tuntutan pendidikan dan permintaan pasar kerja yang berubah (Holmberg, 2014). ...
The aim of this research is to expose the challenges and opportunities of transformation of technology-based college governance on future Islamic universities. This research method is a library expression. The data sources used include journal articles, books, research reports, conference papers, and policy documents related to digital transformation in higher education. The results of this research are some of the opportunities and challenges in transforming technology-based college governance in future Islamic universities. Technology transformation opportunities in Islamic higher education are, improvement, accessibility of education, flexible and adaptive curricula, administrative efficiency, development of digital resources, and global collaboration.
... Before their EPICS programs, they were among the first institutions to use educational data mining (EDM) and learning analytics (LA) as part of their decisionmaking process, as can be seen in Arnold and Pistilli (2012). Other notable examples of challenge-based models are the Challenge Lab at Chalmers University of Technology (Holmberg, 2014) and the Green Challenge at the Technical University of Denmark (About Green Challenge, n.d.; Hussmann, 2010). A case study closer to our subject university was investigated by Professor Claudia Lizette Garay-Rondero. ...
Complex thinking competency enhances the high cognitive capacities necessary for the future of education. This study aimed to analyze these capacities through its sub-competencies (critical, systemic, and scientific thinking). We worked with the Cross Industry Standard Process for Data Mining methodology, with an original database of class data of 33,319 unique students, 46 different variables, and a random identification number. The variables were sociodemographic information, academic information, subject admission, competencies, and activities. Statistical analyses identified correlations between competency and sub-competencies. The findings show that 1) critical thinking is strategic in the development of complex thinking and its sub-competencies; 2) Development of Critical Thinking skills early in the curriculum can lead to a cascade effect, enhancing competence and sub-competence development; and 3) an overall performance encompasses the semester results. The study is of value to the academic, technological, and social communities to provide opportunities for the design and implementation of challenging scenarios for the future of education.
... Prominente Beispiele, wie das "Challenge Lab" an der Chalmers University für Technologie in Schweden, zeigen, dass ILs integrative und kollaborative Transferaktivitäten mit einer transformativen Ausrichtung ermöglichen. Zudem können ILs auch verändernd auf Hochschulstrukturen wirken, wenn sie Forschung, Lehre und damit verbundene institutionelle Bedingungen begleiten, und diese universitären Aufgaben auf Transferprozesse mit einer transformativen Zielsetzung ausgerichtet werden (Holmberg et al. 2015;Holmberg 2014). Auf nationaler Ebene lieferte das Projekt "Entwicklung, Erprobung und Verbreitung neuer Qualifizierungsangebote für Change Agents zum transformativen Lernen am Beispiel Reallabore" (EEVA) einen Vorstoß für ein "Transformative Innovation Lab", welches ein didaktisches Konzept für Masterstudiengänge an Hochschulen bereitstellt (Wanner et al. 2020 (Markard et al. 2012). ...
Innovation Labs als Räume für experimentelle Interaktions- und Forschungsprozesse haben sich zu einem prominenten Instrument für universitäre Wissens-und Technologietransferprozesse entwickelt. Als Gelegenheitsstruktur für kollaboratives Forschen und transformatives Experimentieren betrachten einige Universitäten und Hochschulen Innovation Labs als ein aussichtsreiches und zeitgemäßes Transferinstrument. Diese Räume sollen dabei behilflich sein, intensiver mit unterschiedlichen Stakeholdern zusammenzuarbeiten und gezielter Problemstellungen auf praktischer Ebene zu adressieren. Während zu Innovation Labs in verschiedenen Anwendungsfeldern inner- sowie außerhalb des universitären Wissens- und Technologietransfers umfangreiche Erkenntnisse erarbeitet wurden, ist wenig darüber bekannt, wie existierende Transfereinheiten zu Organisationen mit einer transformativen Ausrichtung weiterentwickelt werden können. Dahingehend verfolgt TransLab das Ziel den Bedarf an Methoden für eine gezielte Weiterentwicklung von Transferorganisationen an der Schnittstelle zwischen Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft zu adressieren. Als anwendungsorientierte Methode für die organisationale Weiterentwicklung von Transfereinrichtungen, umfasst TransLab praktische Handlungsschritte für die systematische Erarbeitung von organisationalen Kapazitäten, welche auf die Umsetzung von Transferaktivitäten mit einer transformativen Ausrichtung ausgelegt sind.
Die Methode besteht aus vier Phasen, die in einer iterativen Schleife mündet. Auf der Grundlage der Erfassung und Bewertung existierender organisationaler Kapazitäten erfolgt die Ableitung von Handlungsmaßnahmen für eine Anpassung an eine transformative Ausrichtung. Daraufhin werden die erarbeiteten Handlungsmaßnahmen für eine gezielte Anpassung in Transferprojekten umgesetzt. Die vierte Phase mündet zugleich in einer iterativen Umsetzung der genannten Phasen. Dadurch ist die organisationale Weiterentwicklung langfristig auf dynamische Phasen einer koordinierten Veränderung und Anpassung ausgerichtet. Neben einer prozessorientierten Anwendungsbeschreibung liefert TransLab zudem inhaltliche Ressourcen für die Erfassung, Bewertung und systematische Erweiterung organisationaler Kapazitäten.
... Universities shifting to sustainability learning have emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration in their program design (Sipos et al. 2008;Holmberg 2014;Wright et al. 2015;UNESCO 2017;Kishita et al. 2018;Leal Filho et al. 2018). The interdisciplinary approach refers to a pedagogical method that incorporates multiple disciplines of academia to provide students with a greater balance of learning and understanding of social problems. ...
There exists a substantial literature on sustainability pedagogy. Much of it addresses individual courses, sustainability programs, or the learning competencies that are encouraged. The implicit focus is on students who have chosen to specialize on sustainability topics by obtaining a degree in programs such as , sustainability management, environmental science or studies. More recently, there has been emerging literature calling for embedding sustainability into entire university curricula as sustainability becomes a more prominent issue for higher education institutions. Four key themes have emerged in this literature that are relevant to the goal of developing sustainability pedagogy relevant to all students: (i) the organizational framework for the content of sustainability pedagogy, (ii) the conceptualisation and teaching of inter-transdisciplinarity, (iii) the relative merits of compulsory or voluntary sustainability programming, and (iv) the role of course inventories. In this paper, we examine the University of Toronto’s introduction of a new model of sustainability learning and evaluate it against the themes and recommendations found in the literature. This model aims to establish university-wide sustainability learning trajectories, called Sustainability Pathways whose novelty is in its offer to reach many more students than other approaches. The key themes emerging from the literature will serve as a basis for program evaluation. It is found that the Pathways program does embody some of these themes but that further development would be desirable. The program and the course inventories at its foundation will go through periodic evaluation to assess progress on program goals and objectives.
... We focus on students' learning processes for dealing with complex challenges such as climate change in real-world contexts. We build on eight years of experience from initiating and running such learning settings (Holmberg, 2014;Larsson & Holmberg, 2018), as well as experiences from related approaches, including literature reviews on sustainability oriented laboratories and experimentation (McCrory et al., 2020). ...
In this volume 28 contributions from researchers worldwide address contemporary policy issues relating to education in times of climate change. It is edited by professors Heila Lotz-Sisitka and Eureta Rosenberg from the Environmental Learning Research Centre, at Rhodes University, South Africa,
Our contribution starts by recognizing how today, climate change is of concern to
children and youth because it affects their future, that of the coming generations and
also life on our planet itself. We address this matter firstly by looking for opportunities to
practice and develop ethical competence, next by highlighting problems in ethics
education and, finally, by pointing to a possible way forward.
This special issue; NSI 07, is published by NORRAG, Network for international policies and cooperation in education and training. NORRAG is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
... We focus on students' learning processes for dealing with complex challenges such as climate change in real-world contexts. We build on eight years of experience from initiating and running such learning settings (Holmberg, 2014;Larsson & Holmberg, 2018), as well as experiences from related approaches, including literature reviews on sustainability oriented laboratories and experimentation (McCrory et al., 2020). ...
This essay advances a posthuman relational approach to climate change education, using eight images as provocations. We argue that an embedded, holistic and interdisciplinary nature relations approach is a fundamental element of the educational response to the climate emergency, one which is based in the natural world, and which is creative, embodied and transformative.
... The process had joint ownership between the Regional Council and the County Administrative Board with a design-and process team consisting of civil servants, researchers (as a form of transdisciplinary co-design) and an external facilitator. This process resulted in a politically adopted climate strategy 'Climate 2030'.The methodology used in giving shape of Climate 2030 took inspiration from the backcasting approach used at Challenge Lab at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg [54] that had also recently been used in forming a strategic innovation and research agenda 'Transport 2050' issued by the Swedish Innovation Agency [55]. ...
Purposeful transformative change on a level of societal systems, structures and practices is called for in response to contemporary sustainability challenges. Sustainability transition labs and arenas represent a particular set of governance innovations seeking to foster systemic change based on deliberate engagement of multiple actors around complex issues of concern. Most labs aim for long-term contributions in addressing persistent societal challenges and transitioning into sustainability, yet are seldomly evaluated on whether, how and to what extents such contributions become realised in practice. In this paper, we further an analytical framework for comparatively analysing sustainability transition labs and arenas with emphasis on their processes, effects and impacts. The framework is applied on two cases: Energy Futures Lab initiated in Alberta, Canada and the arenas for a Fossil Independent West Sweden - Climate 2030. In particular, the comparison showcases how contextual difference in terms of urgency and turbulence may influence lab activities and how ownership and governance conditions may influence the various directions outputs, effects and wider impacts took. The comparison further illuminates how backcasting and the multi-level perspective may serve as complementary frameworks and tools in lab processes, whose respective role may depend on aspiration and context. We end the paper by providing a series of key considerations in furthering the comparative analytical framework and its application in practice. They orient around the three guiding questions on the why's, what's, and how's of doing comparative research on sustainability transition arenas and labs across their processes, effects and impacts.
... More specifically, Clugston & Calder (2000) state that several things that have become the focus of the SR including: university commitment to sustainability issues contained in the organization's vision and mission; translating sustainability into academic and research activities, encouraging students to think and behave critically towards environmental problems; environmentally friendly university policies; establish cooperation with other institutions to improve organizational sustainability. A university plays a key role in keeping knowledge and contributing to society (Holmberg, 2014). In addition, Облік і фінанси, № 4(94), 2021 p-ISSN 2307-9878, e-ISSN 2518-1181, www.afj.org.ua ...
Due to the phenomenon of university corporatization, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is now widely adopted by many universities worldwide, although it was initially used only by large companies. This study tries to add a lifeworld perspective to the university's sustainability report. This is an effort to maintain the university as an educational institution with different values from the company. This study provides a new perspective on lifeworld in the preparation of sustainability reporting of universities in other countries with different life world. The author explores sustainability reporting indicators in one of the universities in Indonesia based on the GRI standards and university lifeworld. This study uses a qualitative method with a case study approach at one of the universities in Indonesia. Data is collected from documents consisting of reports and other relevant data that can be accessed through the university's website and data from interviews with informants. As a result, the indicators of the sustainability reporting of universities in Indonesia based on the Global Reporting Initiative and lifeworld were systematized. The university lifeworld is a culture and educational values that reflect its identity. The indicators of the GRI consist of economic, environmental, and social. Lifeworld indicators are curriculum set product and policy, a number of research, and a number of religious, nationalism, and other activities. This research contributes to enriching theory in sustainability reporting research at universities using Habermas theory. This research is helpful for higher education stakeholders and can be used to prepare university sustainability reports.
... With regards to teaching, I dedicate most of my time and resources across various activities within Challenge Lab. This is a master's level space, developed within Chalmers University of Technology and, until quite recently, sitting physically inbetween different organizations and institutions in West Sweden (Holmberg, 2014). In Challenge Lab, I have learned continuously and had the opportunity to develop alongside ambitious students who are seeking to become agents of change for a more sustainable society. ...
In 2015, the necessity of fundamental change was outlined in the universal, transnational agreement, Agenda 2030, under the headline of “transforming our world”. Underlying transformation, integration, and universality, Agenda 2030 calls for guided ethical and moral action in addition to earnest scientific and technological change. Sustainability transitions provide an organizing frame to conceptualize change at the level of systems. It does this within an explicitly normative field of research and practice, committed to understanding and navigating transitions towards sustainability.
Alongside socio-technical niches and experiments, labs in real-world contexts have emerged as appealing entities that situate and localize around complex sustainability challenges. Their diverse form and positive connotations suggest a novel form of experimentation with purposeful and transformative aspirations. Yet, labs in real-world contexts hold different normative commitments, many of which are arguably tangential to sustainability. The purpose of this thesis is to establish a normative understanding of laboratories in real-world contexts through the adoption of sustainability as an organizing concept. Methodologically, my research emerged from and was shaped by one interconnected process, a systematic yet exploratory review.
In this thesis, I generate knowledge claims on a collection of labs that intersect disciplines and areas of application. I derive seven research communities linked to sustainability-oriented labs in real-world contexts, and present labs as a combination of spaces, processes and ways of organizing. I develop an empirically grounded typology of labs according to engagement with sustainability as a generic matter of concern, substantiated in place. This typology illuminates similarities and differences across six different lab types. I then point towards reflexive governance as a helpful extension for further understanding labs in the context of transitions towards sustainability. Moving forward, I plan to adopt learning as a lens for qualitative case-based inquiry, enabling a contextual understanding of lab processes in practice.
... Studenterna hade dessutom börjat bygga tillit mellan aktörer (som i flera fall inte hade träffats tidigare) och därigenom hade de startat processer som få andra aktörer i samhället skulle ha lyckats med -just för att de är studenter! Utifrån denna erfarenhet skapade vi Challenge Lab -where learners lead and leaders learn (Holmberg, 2014). Challenge Lab är ett initiativ där masterstudenter tar sig an hållbarhetsomställningar i samverkan med forskning, näringsliv och samhälle. ...
För att klara de globala utmaningarna menar FN:s Agenda 2030 att det krävs omställning av samhälleliga system. Det räcker inte med marginella justeringar. Ohållbara transport-, energi-, mat- och sjukvårdsystem behöver fasas ut och ersättas med hållbara. För att klara dessa omställningar behövs helhetssyn och samverkan. I denna artikel ger jag min reflektion över FN:s process för lärande för hållbar utveckling och på vilket sätt högskolor och universitet (HoU) kan bli mer aktiva i denna hållbarhetsomställning genom att ta vara på studenternas unika roll som möjliggörare.
... Barrows (1996) (Kamp, 2012;Saunders-Smits vd., 2012). Ancak bazı temalarla ilgili olarak problemlerin belirlenmesinde özel sektör temsilcilerinden de görüş alınmaktadır (4TU, 2017;Holmberg, 2014;Koppenjan, 2005). ...
Özet
Temel görevleri eğitim, araştırma, tüm evrene ve toplumlara fayda sağlamak olan üniversiteler, bilimsel bilginin üretiminde sorumluluk alan, bu üretim sürecini küresel bağlamdaki değişimin ortaya çıkardığı sonuçlar ile bütünleştiren, dünyayı ve bireyi ilgilendiren her tür probleme yönelik çözüm üretmesi gereken yükseköğretim kurumlarıdır. Üniversitelerin bu nitelikte kurumlar olarak adlandırılabilmesi ve değişimle rekabet edebilmesi için eğitim programlarının da sistem düzeyinde dönüştürülmesi gerekmektedir. Kurumların vizyon, misyon ve değerleri başta olmak üzere, tüm uygulamalarını yansıtan eğitim programlarının bu değişimi doğru yönetecek şekilde geliştirilmesi ve sürekli güncellenmesi, içerisinde bulunduğumuz zıtlık ve belirsizliklerle dolu çağın yarattığı problemlerle başa çıkmanın en doğru yoludur. Bu çalışmada incelenen proje tabanlı eğitim programları öğrenciler ve gerçek yaşam problemleri merkeze alınarak tasarlanmakta, problemlerin çözümü ve bilgi üretimi sürecine odaklanmaktadır. Çalışma, proje kavramını sadece bir öğrenme-öğretme yaklaşımı ya da yöntemi olarak değil, eğitim programlarının geliştirilmesinde merkeze alınarak oluşturulmuş bir eğitim felsefesi olarak görmektedir. Araştırmanın iki temel amacı bulunmaktadır. Birinci temel amaç Avrupa ve Amerika'da proje tabanlı eğitim programı uygulayan beş üniversitenin eğitim programlarını incelemek ve karşılaştırmak; ikinci temel amaç ise, Türk üniversitelerinde uygulanabilecek proje tabanlı eğitim programı bağlamında kavramsal bir model önermektir. Araştırmanın birinci temel amacı çerçevesinde, Aalborg, Roskilde, McMaster, Delft Teknik ve Worcester Politeknik Üniversitesi eğitim programlarının yapılandırılma, uygulanma ve değerlendirilme boyutları ile dokümanlar incelenerek ilgili özellikler belirlenmiş ve karşılaştırılmış; sonrasında ise bu üniversitelerde çalışan öğretim elemanlarından aynı boyutlara yönelik görüşler alınmıştır. Araştırmanın ikinci temel amacına yönelik olarak ise Türk üniversitelerinde uygulanabilecek kavramsal bir model önerilmiştir. Araştırma, programların yapılandırma, uygulama ve değerlendirme sürecini kendi koşulları içerisinde ve olduğu gibi açıklamaya çalıştığından, betimsel bir araştırmadır ve araştırmada nitel araştırma yöntemleri kullanılmıştır. Bu araştırma, proje kavramını klasik bakış açısının dışında ele alması ve birbirinden farklı üniversitelerin uygulamalarını karşılaştırarak sistematik bir analiz ortaya koyması nedeniyle üniversitelere ve araştırmacılara uygulamaya dönük bilgiler sunmakta olduğundan önemlidir. Ayrıca, proje tabanlı eğitim programı ile ilgili olarak önerilen kavramsal model ile bu araştırma yükseköğretimde kurum düzeyinde yapılandırılmış proje tabanlı eğitim programı bağlamında Türkiye'de yapılmış ilk çalışmadır. Araştırmanın birinci temel amacı kapsamında ulaşılan bulgularına göre, çalışmada incelenen üniversitelerin eğitim programlarındaki uygulamalar arasında bazı farklılıklar olsa da tüm programlarda proje kavramı bir dersin işlenişinde kullanılan bir öğretim yaklaşımı ya da yöntemi olarak değil, kurum düzeyinde benimsenmiş bir eğitim felsefesi olarak görülmektedir. Tüm programlarda öğrenen merkezli ve problem merkezli program tasarım yaklaşımı benimsenmiş ve tüm programlar disiplinlerötesi anlayışa göre düzenlenmiştir. Bu bağlamda, programların yapılandırılması, uygulanması ve değerlendirilmesinde iç ve dış paydaşlar işbirliği içerisinde çalışmakta, projelerin gerçekleştirilmesinde evrene ve topluma fayda ölçütünü göz önünde bulundurarak kolektif bir şekilde hareket etmektedir. Proje tabanlı eğitim programı aracılığıyla öğrencilerin kazanması beklenen yeterlilikler, günümüzde iş yaşamının ihtiyaç duyduğu bilgi, beceri ve yetkinliklerdir. Bu nedenle, dünya çapında birçok üniversite dördüncü nesil üniversite anlayışına uygun olarak eğitim programlarını projeleri merkeze alarak yapılandırmakta ve bu programlar aracılığıyla ortaya koyduğu uygulamalarla dünya sıralamasında en başarılı üniversiteler arasında yer almaktadır. Bu bağlamda, Türk üniversitelerinin de proje ile ilgili sahip olduğu potansiyeli ortaya çıkarması, projeleri sadece bir Ar-Ge ürünü olarak değil, eğitim programlarının geliştirilmesinde kurumsal düzeyde benimsenen bir eğitim felsefesi olarak görmesi gerekmektedir. Çalışmada önerilen proje tabanlı eğitim programı kavramsal modeli Türk üniversitelerinin dönüşümüne ve öğrencilerin bilgi çağı niteliklerine uygun yeterliliklere sahip olmasına katkı sağlayacaktır.
Abstract
Universities, which mainly serve as to educate, research, benefit to the whole universe and societies in the world, are higher education institutions that take responsibility for the production of scientific knowledge, integrate this production process with the results of the change in the global context and produce solutions for all kinds of problems concerning the world and the individual. In order for universities to be named within this context and to compete with change, curricula they use need to be developed at the system level. The right way for universities to deal with the problems resulted from the era which is full of contrast and uncertainty is to continuously develop and update the curricula that reflect all of their practice, especially the vision, mission and values. The project-based curricula analyzed in this study are centered on students and real-life problems by focusing on the problem-solving and knowledge production process. The study considers the term "project" not only as a teaching and learning approach or method, but also as an educational philosophy that is fully based on certain PBL principles in the curriculum development process. The study has two main objectives. The first main objective is to analyze and compare the PBL curricula of five universities in Europe and America, and the second is to propose a conceptual PBL model that can be applied by Turkish universities. Within the framework of the first main objective of the study, the documents related to the PBL curricula of Aalborg, Roskilde, McMaster, Delft Technic University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute were examined and compared within the dimensions of the structuring, implementation and evaluation. In addition, interviews were conducted with the faculty members working at these universities. For the second main purpose of the study, a conceptual model is proposed to be implemented at Turkish universities. The research is a descriptive study as it aims to describe the structuring, implementation and evaluation process of the curriculum within their own context, and qualitative research methods are used. This study is important because it approaches the concept of project outside the classical point of view and presents a systematic analysis by comparing the practices of different universities. In addition, within the context of curriculum design in higher education, this is the first and only study in Turkey which proposes a conceptual PBL model structured through a university-wide curriculum change. According to the findings of the first main objective of the study, although there are some differences between the practices in the curricula of the universities examined in the study, the concept of project in all curricula is seen as an adopted educational philosophy, not as an instructional approach or method used in a classroom teaching context. All curricula adopt a learner-centered and problem-centered curriculum design approach and they are organized according to an interdisciplinary approach. In this context, both the internal and external stakeholders cooperate in the structuring, implementation and evaluation of the curricula, and act collectively during the project process taking into account the criterion that all projects should be beneficial to the whole universe and society. The qualifications expected to be gained by the students through the PBL curriculum are the knowledge, skills and competencies that business life needs today. For this reason, many universities around the world are structuring their curricula by putting the taking the projects to the center in accordance with the concept of fourth generation university, and they are among the most successful universities in the world with the practice they put through PBL curriculum. In this context, it is necessary for Turkish universities to fulfill their potential for project work and to consider projects not only as a research and development product but also as an educational philosophy adopted at institutional level in the development of curriculum. The conceptual model of the PBL curriculum proposed in the study will contribute to the transformation of Turkish universities in accordance with the information age characteristics and enable students to acquire the related competences.
... According to Holmberg [49], there are three important building blocks in agricultural transformation for sustainability in terms of climate change adaptation. The first building block focuses on creating a platform for cooperation and information exchange and it needs to be open and flexible. ...
Climate change has seriously affected agriculture and many aspects of the life of local people in the Vietnam Mekong Delta (VMD). Learning to shift towards sustainable development to successfully adapt to climate change is essential. The VACB (V-garden/orchard; A-fishing farm; C-livestock farm; B-biogas) model is considered one of the best approaches and methods to adapt to climate change in the VMD. This paper aims to explore the transformative social learning and sustainable development associated with this model in terms of agricultural transformation for sustainability to climate change adaptation in the VMD. The mixed methods approach that guided the data collection included focus group discussions, in-depth interviews with key informants and household surveys. Our findings show that there are three learning processes associated with transformative social learning linked to the VACB model: instrumental, communicative and emancipatory learning. Farmers reported increased knowledge and improved relationships and efficiency when applying the VACB model using several learning channels, both formal and informal. Farmers highlighted six factors that influenced transformative social learning during the adoption and development of the VACB model and several barriers to implementing adaptation strategies to climate change in an attempt to upscale the VACB model.
... The higher education sector has responded to this movement by incorporating critical aspects economic, social and environmental perspectives of the sustainable development agenda within the various curricula (see e.g. Chau, 2007;Stephens et al., 2008;Sammalisto and Lindhqvist, 2008;Holmberg, 2014, and;. Within engineering professions, there is increasing acknowledgement of the agenda in professional thinking, and there are ongoing debates as to how this might be reflected within professional codes of practice (see Allenby et al., 2007). ...
The contested nature of knowledge about sustainable development makes it difficult to embed sustainable development in engineering curricula, which tend to have a deterministic approach to understanding theoretical concepts. Such an approach does not align well with the emergent thinking of sustainable development, where thinking about the future requires dealing not only with what is known, but also with what is unknown and at times unknowable. Text-based approaches that privilege explicit and codified knowledge are limited in helping students visualise what a sustainable future might look like. To facilitate such visualisation would require expansion of the repertoire of tools and artefacts beyond text-based materials. In this article, we critically reflect on a series of student-centred ‘Open-space’ workshops over the past several years aimed at promoting debate and co-production of knowledge around developing sustainable futures using a range of artefacts such as pictorial illustrations, wiki terms, art materials and chill-out music. Attention is paid on critically appraising the role artefacts play in developing knowledge to empower students to collectively reflect on, imagine and visualise sustainable futures.
... 2 portraits how we build upon the triple helix model and added the civil society in our work[50 ...
ThisreportinvestigatestheintersectionbetweenMobilityasaServiceandBlockchain technology. Bothofthesetopicsarecuttingedgeandarebeingactivelyresearched. The reason this topic was chosen is manifold. The current transport system is in need of transformation because it has a wide range of problems. Among them are pollution fromfossilfuel,congestion,andhealthissues. MobilityasaServiceisaboutintegrating multiplemobilityservicesinordertoaddresssomeoftheseproblems. Blockchaintechnology is a recent development in computer science and economics that brings a new wayforpartieswithdifferinginteresttocometoanagreementwithouttheneedofan intermediary. Thiscouldhaveimpactinmostsectorsofsociety.
... TPCs include aspects of service learning, learning by research, team teaching and reflexive learning. TPCs also show similarities to the challenge lab approach at Chalmers University [56,57]. The timeline of the courses is structured in six phases (Table 3), including preparation and a phase-out which can often be crucial for the success or failure of transdisciplinary projects [58]. ...
Since the early days of the emerging research format of Real-world Labs (RwLs), higher education plays a vital role in them. Examples have been presented on teaching activities in RwLs, but the reasons for and evidence of their inclusion stays limited. To start a systematic discussion on the embedding of higher education in RwLs, this paper presents the case of six Transdisciplinary Project Courses carried out in the RwL “District Future—Urban Lab” in Karlsruhe/Germany. The paper presents the discourses on the role of learning in RwLs and compares it to those on Transition Labs and Urban Living Labs. To offer a new approach to address this aspect, the paper introduces a social practice perspective to map out the interrelations between an RwL and higher education therein. The detailed analysis of the processes is used to identify the potential of the RwL to support learning. It shows that all dimensions of social practice can be identified in the interplay between Real-world Lab and Transdisciplinary Project Courses, even though to a very different degree and in different phases. The text closes with lessons learned for teaching project courses in RwLs and similar labs.
... These methodological approaches are also part of a broader trend of sustainability research on governance networks (Klijn, 2010), that rely on social learning processes (Wals, 2007) in relatively protected discursive spaces (Pesch, 2015). Examples of such research approaches can be found in a broad range of urban living labs (Voytenko et al., 2016), transition labs (Frantzeskaki et al., 2017), challenge labs (Holmberg, 2016) and ...
... Coordination support has been found to be one of the important drivers for successful university sustainability partnerships, particularly in North America (Trencher et al, 2014) • Student focus. It has been recognized that students are able to play a key role in creating connections between universities and communities (Hynie et al, 2011;Holmberg, 2014;Gardner & Bartkus, 2014) and we attribute much of the success of this program to the central role students have performed. As learners, and as people preparing for their professional lives, the graduate students bring energy and openness to the work. ...
Purpose
This paper describes the sustainability partnership between the City of Vancouver and the University of British Columbia (UBC) and, in particular, the co-curricular Greenest City Scholars graduate student internship program, which has been developed by the two organizations. Through the program, UBC graduate students work on projects at the City that help to advance sustainability targets. The paper aims to explore the successes, challenges and lessons learned from the program.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study uses literature and document review, observations, program participant evaluation surveys and project impact survey feedback.
Findings
The Greenest City Scholars program model has contributed to the sustainability goals at UBC and the City of Vancouver and has supported the partnership between the two organizations. The program has grown over its five-year history and is considered to be a central part of the partnership. Breadth of student participants from across the university and high participation from City departments have been achieved. The model is now being adapted to be delivered within other partnerships.
Practical implications
The experiences presented in this case study can help other higher education institutions understand how a co-curricular graduate student work experience program could help to bolster their own sustainability partnerships.
Originality/value
This paper makes a contribution by providing insight into the use of a graduate student program to advance the goals of a university–community sustainability partnership.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent restrictive measures adopted by the countries have significantly reduced the capacity of higher education institutions to carry out innovative international teaching and learning activities. This paper provides a short reconstruction of how the seven European universities, members of the Arqus Alliance, handled this challenge. During 2020–21, that is, in full pandemic, the Arqus partners redesigned and implemented a trans-European challenge-based learning (CBL) project involving university students from many disciplinary fields, including social sciences and natural sciences, focused on climate change-related risks in European cities and areas. Based on this experience, a contingent conceptualization of CBL is proposed, comprising eight characteristics, whose effectiveness is then tested against data provided by students who participated in the courses. In this context, the results of a Likert questionnaire distributed to students from participating universities will be discussed. The analysis is meant to provide a deeper understanding of CBL not only as a pedagogical tool for a specific output, but also as a broader learning experience generating outcomes for teachers who plan and deliver CBL activities, and for the beneficiaries of such activities. In other words, the article aims to highlight some enabling and inhibiting factors of “strategic CBL”—this latter expression is supposed to capture the process of designing and implementing a CBL activity as a CBL practice in itself.
The present paper studies a blended learning approach provided by a university in central Taiwan from 2018 to 2020. In this approach, a Moodle E-learning platform called iLearn2.0 was used along with an onsite classroom. iLearn 2.0 has four major features, including cloud services, mobile learning, flipped classroom, and data analysis. The platform was used during 2018–2020 in the Citizen Participation course, helping the researcher/teacher to design an interactive course content and aiding students to complete classroom activities through their devices. In total, 127 students enrolled in citizen participation courses were taught during 2018–2020, using different teaching methods. In 2018, students studied in a physical classroom. iLearn2.0 was integrated with the physical classroom for the 2019 course; lastly, the iLearn2.0 platform was used alone in 2020. To evaluate the effect of virtual teaching on the students’ performance, the researcher used summative assessment as the dependent variable. The findings show that the class that received the iLearn2.0- assisted teaching had a significantly better learning performance than the other two classes. However, when researchers used iLearn2.0 alone, both the scores and the feedback from students were lower than those in blended and face-to-face teaching. The results suggest the effectiveness of iLearn2.0 assistance, while learners’ performance did not show any significant change in a totally online class. Results were assessed in the view of sustainability, and three sustainability dimensions were found to be improved in the hybrid classroom. The researcher suggests that iLearn2.0 be integrated with other learning tools for maximum results, as it allows students to have a more diverse learning experience, strengthen sustainable learning, and grasp the progress of their courses and learning activities in a timely manner.
FN:s ledning är tydlig med att Agenda 2030 kräver transformativt och inkluderande ledarskap. Ett ledarskap som kräver att vi tar modiga beslut och flyttar oss ut ur våra ”comfort zones” och välkomnar innovativa sätt att arbeta och tänka. I denna artikel ger jag min reflektion över ledarskapskompetenser i undervisningen och ledarskapets betydelse inom undervisningsorganisationen för att möjliggöra för studenter att bygga sådana kompetenser samtidigt som de skapar värde för andra. Det handlar om ledarskap på olika nivåer: att leda sig själv, att leda ihop med andra och att leda för det gemensamma globala samhället. Det handlar också om att skapa rum/utrymme för att möjliggöra utforskande samverkan för hållbar omställning. Att skapa detta förändringsutrymme kräver dock att ledningen, speciellt inom utbildningsystemet, förstår att skilja på men ändå ser det ömsesidiga beroendet av två logiker för styrning och utveckling: kryssnings- respektive expeditionslogiken.
Engaging students at universities to create change and make positive social and environmental impacts is not an easy task to accomplish. Many of these initiatives, even when defined as “successful” by the organizers do not always reach their inner goal: to engage students and partner for collective action for change. This paper aims to understand the role of extracurricular events in creating engagement of students and their actions for sustainability in campuses. This topic is relevant since it lies at the nexus of three areas of research: sustainability leadership of universities, students’ engagement at campuses and the analysis of students’ perceptions on sustainability initiatives. Starting from the analysis of these three bodies of literature, the study will introduce the case of a national event on sustainability and CSR designed and promoted by a private business at the national level and organized locally with the partnership of the University of Florence. The scope is to add new perspectives on challenges and opportunities universities face in promoting sustainability in campuses, so that it could contribute to an area of research still to be developed, that is the organization of extracurricular sustainability events on campuses promoted and leaded by private companies with the partnership and support of local universities. Main findings will be discussed and lead to insights for future research, action, opportunities and challenges.
Our global society is filled with examples of dystopia. From popular film franchises to critically-acclaimed novels, these dystopic landscapes are part of a growing trend that projects our technological and industrial growth to extremes, and yoking environmental degradation to such rampant, unsustainable progress is inevitable. Given this proliferation of grim futures, it is easy to see how students may feel overwhelmed or distanced from positions of engagement. But dystopias may also function as sources of empowerment for individuals and political communities who wish to avoid potential dystopic futures. This praxis chapter models an environmental communications project in which dystopic representations of the future are analyzed based on current social, financial, and ecological contexts. This process uses fictional dystopias as case studies, offering students a way to access real-world situations and apply rigorous analysis to develop creative solutions. Based upon these critical analyses, students are challenged to respond by creating counter-narratives that rival particular dystopias based upon current technology, legislation, and funding. By grappling with projected dystopias through real-world contexts, students may feel empowered as change agents to prevent otherwise grim ecological visions of the future.
Backcasting is a planning methodology that is particularly helpful when problems at hand are complex and when present trends are part of the problems. When applied in planning towards sustainability, backcasting can increase the likelihood of handling the ecologically complex issues in a systematic and coordinated way, and also to foresee certain changes, even from a self-beneficial point of view, of the market and increase the chances of a relatively strong economic performance. To that end, backcasting should be performed from a set of non-overlapping principles that are general enough to be helpful in the coordination of different sectors of society and in business, as well as to cover relevant aspects of sustainability. Such principles are helpful when developing reliable non-overlapping indicators for monitoring of the development when coordinating various measures from different sectors of the society or within individual firms with each other, and when handling trade-offs in a relevant way. Furthermore, the transition can benefit from being undertaken in a strategic step-by-step manner, by which such investments search for those that combine two qualities: (i) technical flexibility to serve as platforms for future investments in line with non-overlapping principles of sustainability, and (ii) good possibilities of giving relatively fast return on investment. This framework for planning is developed together with the Natural Step, a non-government organization, and in collaboration with a network of scientists and business. Examples are given from firms applying the framework.
This paper presents methodological and strategic results of the first two years of the implementation of the second environmental plan (2002-2005) at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) and discusses the benefits and difficulties of new strategies adopted. Particularly, the focus is pointed to the introduction of environmental aspects into technical education, in the framework of an integral university approach that combines simultaneous actions in the areas of education, research, university life and communication in order to develop a consistent and synergetic model. The paper describes and discusses the strategies that have been adopted for accelerating the transformation of the university towards a sustainable university, which include: to create useful tools for decision making, particularly strategic planning indicators; to introduce environmental indicators into university mainstream processes; to assess the transformation potential through an environmental research map; and to work synergistically through “linking initiatives”.
Human beings can be proactive and engaged or, alternatively, passive and alienated, largely as a function of the social conditions in which they develop and function. Accordingly, research guided by self-determination theory has focused on the social-contextual conditions that facilitate versus forestall the natural processes of self-motivation and healthy psychological development. Specifically, factors have been examined that enhance versus undermine intrinsic motivation, self-regulation, and well-being. The findings have led to the postulate of three innate psychological needs--competence, autonomy, and relatedness--which when satisfied yield enhanced self-motivation and mental health and when thwarted lead to diminished motivation and well-being. Also considered is the significance of these psychological needs and processes within domains such as health care, education, work, sport, religion, and psychotherapy.
Now that the Earth has reached the limits of its biophysical carrying capacity, we have to change technologies, social practices and social norms relating to material production and consumption to ensure that we do not further jeopardize the functioning of our planet's life support systems. Through research, education and civic engagement, universities have a pivotal role to play in this transition. This timely book explores how universities are establishing living laboratories for sustainable development, and examines the communication networks and knowledge infrastructures that underpin impact both on and beyond the campus.
Is technology hindering sustainable development or can it be used to stimulate sustainable development? It is becoming clearer that technological innovation can be a useful tool for achieving sustainable development. That is, if the technologist is aware of the boundaries that should be considered when working in a sustainable way; and is knowledgeable about how to use the tools that can be used to work in a sustainable way. Therefore, making technology students aware of these boundaries and tools is an important educational task for universities. Such education should, in our view, include two subjects. (1) Giving them insight into the concepts of sustainable development. What is sustainable development? What are sustainability problems? What are the causes of these problems? Which strategies and approaches for solving them are available? (2) Giving them insight into the technology development process. How does the technology development process work? Which factors influence and steer it? What is the influence of technology on society and on sustainable development? The Technology Assessment group at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has developed several courses on the combination of these two subjects, integrating research results in the fields of sustainable development and technology dynamics. In this article the contents of these courses are described.
Sustainable development is a highly complex problem area, which will probably call for major changes of industrialized societies in the long run. How could futures studies contribute to a policy forming process directed to these problems? And what kind of knowledge about the future is most needed? It is argued that a backcasting approach, due to its problem-solving character, is well suited to these kinds of long-term problems. Fundamental theoretical assumptions behind backcasting are traced. One conclusion is that the merits of backcasting should be judged in the context of discovery rather than in the context of justification. Also, if one is inclined to see teleology as a specific form of understanding, beside causality, then backcasting becomes interesting. Backcasting studies typically aim at providing policy makers and an interested general public with images of the future as a background for opinion forming and decisions.
This paper addresses the question of how technological transitions (TT) come about? Are there particular patterns and mechanisms in transition processes? TT are defined as major, long-term technological changes in the way societal functions are fulfilled. TT do not only involve changes in technology, but also changes in user practices, regulation, industrial networks, infrastructure, and symbolic meaning or culture. This paper practices ‘appreciative theory’ [R.R. Nelson, S.G. Winter, An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change, Bellknap Press, Cambridge, MA, 1982] and brings together insights from evolutionary economics and technology studies. This results in a multi-level perspective on TT where two views of the evolution are combined: (i) evolution as a process of variation, selection and retention, (ii) evolution as a process of unfolding and reconfiguration. The perspective is empirically illustrated with a qualitative longitudinal case-study, the transition from sailing ships to steamships, 1780–1900. Three particular mechanisms in TT are described: niche-cumulation, technological add-on and hybridisation, riding along with market growth.
This paper describes an institutional strategy (Ecoversity) to embed sustainable development across the full range of university activities and services and reflects on two different phases of Ecoversity providing illustrations and case examples of specific actions and changes that have occurred. The programme has begun to deliver tangible benefits to the institution and has begun to act as a catalyst for, and link up with other, internal initiatives that are seeking to reshape the university culture and core activities around sustainable development. The paper reflects on the process of change and describes a process model that captures many of the key elements that needed to be addressed to initiate change and scale up activities. The process model is helpful in analysing barriers to change and how change can be achieved. The project illustrates a conscious and deliberate process for embedding SD within a university culture and offers a coherent conceptual framework for describing change
Let West Sweden be a future test arena
- G I Andersson
- P Fredman
- J Holmberg
- A Hulthén
- K Markides
- J Ransgård
- J Trouvé
- B Törsäter
West Sweden be a future test arena
- B Törsäterlet
Goteborg, Sweden: Institute of Physical Resource Theory
- J Holmberg
Personal Development: The Key to Change Acceleration in Global Operations
- S Jewell-Larsen
- D Sandow