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Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
ESD is an educational approach focused on empowering our students with the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to make informed decisions and take responsible actions that creates an economically viable, environmentally sound, and societally just world for present and future generations.
We do this through embedding the UN Sustainable Development Goals in our curriculum and developing a range of competencies in our students through teaching that is critical, inclusive and makes use of active learning.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) encompass 17 global objectives set by the United Nations in 2015, intended to be achieved by the year 2030. They aim to focus our attention on a wide range of social, economic, and environmental challenges to create a more sustainable, safer, and prosperous planet for all humanity.
All Ulster staff embed the SDGs and their related subject knowledge in their modules and programmes.
Responsible Futures
Ulster University has been awarded the SOS-UK Responsible Futures Accreditation. Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS-UK) Responsible Futures is a whole-institution supported change programme and accreditation mark designed to embed sustainability across all aspects of student learning.
Accreditation is awarded to institutions following a student-led audit of 50 criteria covering key themes such as benchmarking, leadership & strategy, policy & commitment, interventions, and outreach.
Responsible Futures is intended to support an education system which equips graduates with the necessary competencies to face and address the climate and ecological emergency and deliver on climate justice, to avoid repeating mistakes of our past.
By following the Responsible Futures framework, partnerships are signposted towards and supported to realise institutional changes needed to develop a learning experience which supports graduates to develop the knowledge and understanding, skills, and attributes to actively contribute to a socially just response to the climate crisis.
SDG Teach-In
Ulster University participates in the annual SOS-UK SDG Teach-In. This initiative is designed to raise awareness about the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and why they should be at the centre of higher education, to inspire and empower students to confront the most pressing challenges of our time, and to take action towards a more sustainable future for all.
Ulster University educators are encouraged to ‘Take the Pledge’ to include the SDGs in at least one teaching/learning support session with students, during the month of March. In 2025, Ulster University ranked 2nd amongst the institutions taking part for number of educators pledging to take part, and 6th for highest percentage of students reached by the campaign.
