By: Namish Modi
Higher education institutions are looking tobeallies for change andtoachieve the through teaching, work-integrated learning,researchand partnerships.
Both the institutions and students play a vital role in taking on global challenges and ensuring a sustainable future.
In work placements and internships across 12 countries, a new study found that 13 per cent of students from the University of ݮƵ’s Faculty of Environment carried out work related to the development goals, also known as. They include zero hunger, quality education, and clean water and sanitation.
Universitiescan play a role in developing students who are ready to take on global challengesandbring those skills to the future workforce.Employerscanplay a key role in engaging students during a critical moment in their young careers.
ճٳܻ,“”, was recentlypublishedinthe.University of ݮƵ researchersfound thatfurther engagement of co-op students (or interns) with the SDGs is required for them to be true agents of change in maintaining a sustainableworld.
Norah McRae
Associate Provost, Co-operative and Experiential Education
University of ݮƵ
ݮƵ’s co-operative education program, the largest in the world,facilitatesmore than21,000 co-op terms annuallyof which more than3,000 are completedinternationallyacross about 60 countries.Thestudy showed thatco-op terms contributedmore than$300 million inlabourincome and $567 million towards GDPin a year.Due to the sheer economic impact co-op students provideto organizations, there is adequate evidence to examine the ways they may be contributing to the SDGs.
“Our remarkable and talented students have the potential to play an instrumental role in ensuring a sustainable future for us all,” said Norah McRae, associate provost of Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) at ݮƵ and co-author of the study. “It is imperative that we leverage our outstanding co-operative and experiential education programs to understand how we can further engage our students to work towards advancing the SDGs.”
McRae and co-author ShabnamIvković, director of international strategic initiatives in CEE, assessed job descriptions, projects and responsibilities to determine relevance to the goals. The researchers collaborated with the University of ݮƵ Sustainability Office, and .
They considered factors like business model, stakeholders, organizationalmissionand student experience.To determine impact,ݮƵ’s Sustainability Office used a qualitative approach whileWISE and WGSI developed a rating system.
“Research indicates that there is a need to build further awareness of SDGs among employers and students,”Ivkovićsaid. “Our programs offer outstanding opportunities abroad, and we can use those opportunities to determine how students play a role in creating a more sustainable future.”
As a result of the study, ݮƵ put together a pilot program to further understand co-op student and employer perception of their engagement with the SDGs. Based on the approachesofthe collaborators, the researchers implemented a self-guided exploration instrument in Spring 2021 across all international internships—whether done remotely or in-person abroad. Eventually, the goal is to extend the activity to domestic co-op terms.
