| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 76.52 |
| Liaison | Maria Kirrane |
| Submission Date | July 28, 2022 |
University College Cork - National University of Ireland, Cork
PRE-2: Points of Distinction
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Name of the institution’s featured sustainability program, initiative, or accomplishment:
A brief description of the institution’s featured program, initiative, or accomplishment:
In 2010, UCC was the first university in the world to be awarded a Green Flag from the Foundation for Environmental Education. The combination of bottom-up activism from our student community and top down commitment from University leadership has been key to our success. The programme was started by students that wanted to have a say in environmental management on campus. They made contact with the national operator of the Green Flag programme in Ireland and university management and agreed a pilot Green Campus initiative. The UCC Green Campus committee is co-chaired by a member of the Environmental Society and the Deputy President of the Students Union; it has membership from staff and students and meets regularly throughout the year to design new projects and campaigns. The Green Forum is chaired by the University President and Director of Buildings and Estates; it also has membership from students and staff (as well as contracted suppliers) and meets twice per year to plan the strategic direction of the university’s overall sustainability programme. Sustainability is now at the core of UCC’s strategies and values, and the Green Campus programme is seen as an exemplar in driving cultural change.
Which of the following impact areas does the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Campus Engagement
Energy
Grounds
Website URL where more information about the accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment:
Name of a second highlighted sustainability program/initiative/accomplishment:
A brief description of the second program/initiative/accomplishment:
University College Cork’s, Ireland Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Toolkit was developed as a resource for academic staff to better integrate the SDGs within their teaching practice. The project was funded through Ireland’s National Forum for Teaching and Learning and was developed in response to a baseline review of how the SDGs are included in learning and teaching within the University. A baseline review was undertaken as part of UCC’s submission to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s STARS rating system. UCC is the first University outside of North America to be awarded a STARS Gold rating. The submission process provided a gap analysis of the University’s sustainability programme and it revealed that SDG coverage within our curriculum was surprisingly low. This is in spite of the fact that the University is ranked in the top ten universities in the world for sustainability and impact. Further analysis of this outcome uncovered two important findings:
1. that there was ample enthusiasm to include the SDGs in teaching, but a lack of resources to support this, and
2. that many staff were already including the SDGs implicitly in the curriculum but hadn’t made them explicit
In 2018, the University published a new Academic Strategy, which included sustainability as one of six themes within a new “Connected Curriculum” aimed at enhancing the student learning experience through participation. The SDG Toolkit was developed with a view to developing toolkit that would support teaching staff in enhancing how their teaching linked to the SDGs and develop new linkages where appropriate. Consultations with staff from other Irish universities indicated that the gaps that existed within UCC were mirrored sector-wide; therefore, it was decided that the resource should be open access and easily adaptable.
The development of the toolkit was a cross university collaborative process, undertaken by Research Support Officer Dr John Barimo and led by a steering committee and advisory group. It took a “students as partners” approach, with two members of the student body sitting on the advisory group, which also led to the SDG Resource Library section of the toolkit also serving as a student resource. To inform toolkit development, 1:1 and small group focus sessions were conducted with over 40 staff and 25 students. Techniques and resources were piloted in 20 lectures across several disciplines at UCC. Six professional development workshops and one intensive professional development design sprint events were also undertaken. Staff who took part in the process commented that 'It was a springboard for course redesign' and 'It's about building and strengthening the sustainability agenda and thinking about how that flows through really every aspect of what we do'.
The toolkit is an open-source web-based resource available to all HEIs and is easily adaptable.
Which impact areas does the second program/initiative/accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Campus Engagement
Public Engagement
Website URL where more information about the second program/initiative/accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the second program/initiative/accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the second program/initiative/accomplishment:
Name of a third highlighted program/initiative/accomplishment:
A brief description of the third program/initiative/accomplishment:
Which impact areas does the third program/initiative/accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Website URL where more information about the third program/initiative/accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the third program/initiative/accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the third program/initiative/accomplishment:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.