A workshop on how to incorporate issues of sustainability into the undergraduate curriculum was held in the Pfizer Lecture Theatre in November.

The workshop was sponsored by the Cambridge Climate Society (CCS) education team, who are running a one-year project aiming to engage undergrad and postgrad students on this issue.

The team worked closely with Cambridge Zero, Chemistry Sustainability and our departmental teaching fellows to create the workshop, which was developed to encourage reflection and discussion on how to make sustainability a core part of the chemistry curriculum.

Workshop

Lili Mihalics, an undergraduate student in the Education Department who is involved in the project, introduced and ran the workshop, which involved small group brainstorming and discussion sessions about solutions for improving education about sustainability in chemistry courses. Lili explained that the objectives of the workshop were to raise awareness of departmental level issues around sustainability, shape mindsets when it comes to thinking about what sustainability entails, and capture ideas around actions for a more sustainabile departmental education. 

Curriculum review

The timing couldn't be better as Teaching Professor of Inorganic Chemistry Sally Boss and Teaching Professor/Head of Graduate Education Deborah Longbottom are co-leading a departmental curriculum review. The review will not only be looking at content and how courses are assessed, but also at how sustainability can be incorporated into all aspects of the chemistry syllabus. Sally said: "We are interested in 'quick wins' on how we can change even now to incorporate more sustainability content, but we're also interested in ideas for more inventive or perhaps bigger-scope changes, and what we should be building into the curriculum in future years."

Deborah thanked CCS, Chemistry Sustainability and Cambridge Zero for leading the way to set up the session, and asked everybody attending to provide their ideas on this important issue.