Education
Education is one of the central missions of universities and goes far beyond the teaching of content. Sustainable education in the context of the university encompasses both teaching and studies in the narrower sense as well as further education and training programmes for employees and externally interested parties - in the spirit of lifelong learning. At its core, it is about empowering and encouraging responsible citizens to contribute to overcoming the complex challenges of the 21st century.
In addition to the content-related as well as inter- and transdisciplinary examination of sustainability-related topics, the methodological and didactic design of teaching and learning formats therefore also plays a key role. It is important to actively promote interdisciplinary competences such as networked, forward-looking and critical thinking. The necessary physical, virtual and structural teaching and learning spaces and environments for both teachers and learners should not be neglected.
As a comprehensive university, the University of Innsbruck offers its students a comprehensive and varied study programme. Sustainability-related topics also play an increasingly important role in courses.
The current course catalogue can be found at here.
With the "Sustainability" elective package, the University of Innsbruck offers an educational programme for Bachelor's degrees that is geared towards the goals of Agenda 2030 and enables students to integrate systemic thinking and sustainable development into their subject areas. The elective package comprises a large number of modules totalling 30 ECTS, which include both theoretical and practice-oriented approaches. The aim is to give students from different fields of study the opportunity to integrate sustainability topics into their individual academic context.
The anchoring of sustainability requires that employees in teaching, research and administration are trained accordingly. The University of Innsbruck supports its employees with specific training programmes. In the area of teaching, these include the peer learning activity (PLA) on education for sustainable development (ESD) and the MOOC "Paths of Transformation - Sustainability in University Teaching".
Peer learning activity (PLA) on education for sustainable development
Teacher training programmes, such as the peer learning activity (PLA) on education for sustainable development, promote interdisciplinary exchange and the anchoring of sustainability in teaching. The peer learning activity is an innovative approach that aims to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and the exchange of best practices between teachers. As part of the PLA at the University of Innsbruck, lecturers from various subject areas have come together to design innovative teaching formats based on methods and approaches of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which not only strengthen students in terms of their subject knowledge, but also in their ability to solve problems in an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary way. The aim is to design innovative teaching formats that strengthen students not only in terms of their subject knowledge, but also in their ability to solve problems in an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary way. The PLA also offers a platform for reflection and feedback, which promotes a continuous improvement process. The focus on peer learning builds a strong network of teachers that anchors sustainable development as a cross-cutting theme in university teaching.
In November 2024, the PLA was honoured in the "Learning" category at the Sustainability Awards with silver award ceremony. The Sustainability Award is an initiative of the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection and the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research and is presented every two years.
The next PLA is expected to take place in autumn 2025 . Further information will be announced shortly.
Online MOOC "Paths of Transformation - Sustainability in University Teaching"
The MOOC "Wege der Transformation - Nachhaltigkeit in der Hochschullehre" is for university lecturers and interested educational designers who deal with the topic of sustainability and would like to give the topic more space in their own university teaching. The MooC was developed in Priority Area IV (headed by Franz Rauch and Lars Keller) of the Universities and Sustainable Development Goals (UniNEtZ) project. Stefanie Preiml, Dominik Ruffeis, Karin Oberauer and Caroline Weberhofer are responsible for its creation.
The course can also be accessed at the University of Innsbruck via Platform for free courses.
Lifelong learning is an essential pillar of sustainable development - both individually and socially. With its wide range of continuing education programmes, the University of Innsbruck provides broad access to high-quality, continuous education and supports people in meeting the challenges of a changing world responsibly.
An overview of all continuing education programmes can be found at here.