PA 148/14
If you want to learn about how you can help to shape the future of the planet, then the latest online course from The ÌÇÐÄÔ´´ might be for you.
Sustainability is one of the big global issues of our time. It is crucial that we all play our part in protecting our world for current and future generations. ‘Sustainability, Society and You’ is a free online course being offered by the University through – an online platform offering free course content from the UK’s top universities.
, explores sustainability from multiple angles and perspectives, with a focus upon equipping people to make informed choices in their daily lives. It looks at energy, water, food and waste, but also our moral obligations towards future generations and the links between climate change and poverty.
Encouraging sustainability
The course is led by Dr Sarah Speight, archaeologist, educator and The ÌÇÐÄÔ´´’s academic lead on Sustainability. It features contributions from academics across a variety of disciplines, supported by expert facilitators.
Through videos, readings and discussions, participants will be able to explore different perspectives on sustainability. You will be encouraged to look at your own behaviours, to audit your water footprint and domestic waste, and to critically assess the sustainability strategies of the big corporations
Dr Speight said: “In the past the world has undergone unprecedented change. Agricultural revolutions have been followed by industrial revolutions and populations have expanded across the globe. With these expansions have come greater inequalities in our societies. In this course, we look at some of these inequalities from a historical perspective as well as at the present time and we think about the actions we take and the decisions that we make and how these impact on the environment and upon our communities.
Assessing our environmental impact
“In the 21st Century, we are increasingly concerned about our environmental impact. Here at Nottingham we have eco-houses on campus designed by academics, with the purpose of exploring different energy solutions for our living needs. We might say that the eco houses are the human face of sustainability, as not only do they use science and engineering to come up with creative and innovative ideas for energy, but they also use psychology to consider the way we interact with and take up these new technologies.
“This course is about sustainability from economic, social, technological, political and environmental angles. It’s about exploring those different dimensions and thinking about what it means on both a global and an individual level. It’s about thinking about the contributions we make to society and how we can ensure these contributions are positive. It’s about the small steps we can all make, and it’s about whether or not those small steps can add up to something really rather significant.”
For more information on the course, or to sign up, visit the.
— Ends —
Our academics can now be interviewed for broadcast via our new Globelynx fixed camera facility at the University. For further information please contact a member of the Communications team on +44 (0)115 951 5798, email mediahub@nottingham.ac.uk or see the for how to register for this service.
For up to the minute media alerts
Notes to editors: The ÌÇÐÄÔ´´has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with campuses in and modelled on a headquarters that is among the most attractive in Britain’ (Times Good University Guide 2014). It is also the most popular university among , the , and winner of the for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development’. It is ranked in the World's Top 75 universities by the QS World University Rankings.
, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. More news…