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An Innovative Model of Student-Led Sustainability in Higher Education. Green Dragons, City University London Students’ Union

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Integrating Sustainability Thinking in Science and Engineering Curricula

Part of the book series: World Sustainability Series ((WSUSE))

Abstract

Education for Sustainable Development is about “equipping the younger generation with the broad knowledge needed to make informed decisions for the benefit of themselves and others, now and for the future” (UNESCO 2014). This paper examines how an innovative student-led sustainability project of extra-curricular activities with a bottom-up basis and a top-down motivation and capacity building support structure can deliver sustainability outcomes and inspire other institutions of higher education. Green Dragons project for City University London aims to establish pro-environmental behaviours and facilitate empowerment, while engaging academics, creating community links and affecting operations management. In order to test the effectiveness of this new model, qualitative and quantitative data were collected. The paper concludes with the actions needed by institutions like City University London for increasing the impact and for exploiting the full potential of Green Dragons project as a sustainability model that could be applied in different contexts and could deliver sustainable development in the curriculum, research, operations, community outreach and of course student participation and empowerment, contributing towards behaviour change for “a more sustainable future in terms of environmental integrity, economic viability, and a just society for present and future generations” (International Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, UN 2005).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For more details, visit Green Dragons official website: http://www.green-dragons.co.uk/.

  2. 2.

    The “Insight into student and staff environmental attitudes, behaviours and the impact of existing schemes” survey will be repeated at the end of Green Dragons project in order to accurately measure behaviour change in City University London.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. City University London, Northampton Square, London, EC1V 0HB, UK

    Maria Xypaki

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  1. Maria Xypaki
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Correspondence to Maria Xypaki .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environmental Science, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Sciences and Technology, Universidade Aberta and CFE University of Coimbra, Porto, Portugal

    Ulisses M. Azeiteiro

  3. FCT/UNL, Universidade Aberta and CENSE, Lisbon, Portugal

    Sandra Caeiro

  4. Department of Social Sciences and Management, Universidade Aberta, Porto, Portugal

    Fátima Alves

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Xypaki, M. (2015). An Innovative Model of Student-Led Sustainability in Higher Education. Green Dragons, City University London Students’ Union. In: Leal Filho, W., Azeiteiro, U., Caeiro, S., Alves, F. (eds) Integrating Sustainability Thinking in Science and Engineering Curricula. World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09474-8_34

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