Another successful year for the online summer course “Sustainability and Employability”

Over 60 students successfully completed the online summer course “Sustainability and Employability: Understanding Sustainability Issues and Getting Ready for the Job Market”.

Developed in 2016 by Dr Celine Germond-Duret, Senior Lecturer in Geography, thanks to funding by the Teaching and Learning Academy (Curriculum Enhancement Project), the course discusses sustainability issues (including climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, water, etc.) and invites students to reflect on how sustainability relates to their subject area and potential future career.

Sustainability is a growing agenda across industries and sectors. In order to build the skills needed to work more sustainably, and to meet economic, environmental and social needs, many employers are now looking for graduates who have a grasp of ‘sustainability literacy’ and can challenge the business model, helping to create new opportunities in their sector.

The optional course is available from CANVAS to all LJMU students. This year, students who enrolled onto the course were studying programmes as varied as Biology and Biomedical Science, Wildlife Conservation, Sport Psychology, Architecture, English Literature, Creative Writing, Fashion Communication and Fashion Design, Media, Culture and Communication, Maritime and Mechanical Engineering, Law and Business, Tourism and Leisure Management, Civil Engineering, etc.; at all levels, from Level 4 to PhD.

Kelsey Draper and Violet Ruhumbika tell us about their experience with course:

“I took part in the Sustainability and Employability course over the summer as sustainability is something I am very interested in and I wanted to learn more about it and how it could impact my future career. I learnt so much about sustainability that I was not aware of, and it made me realise there is so much more I can do personally, and what different industries should do too. I had never considered how sustainability is incorporated into my field of Film Production, and researching it for the course has really opened my eyes to the issues and improvements the industry needs to address. The course inspired me to look into my field further, and I even went on to write a blog post about sustainability in the film industry! I would encourage others to take part in the course as it is very interesting and will make you consider an aspect of your future career path you may have never thought of before!” (Kelsey Draper, Film Studies)

“Prior to taking the online Sustainability and Employability course I had no idea what this was about even though I had come across the word on many different occasions including on my electricity bill. The course was for 6 weeks and I was able to work at my own pace, doing it at my own convenience with great support from the staff. Through the course, I gained knowledge and awareness on different factors such as water, waste disposal, smoke, food and its effects on the environment and the world we live in. The knowledge gained has enabled me to create awareness among other staff by encouraging them to be cautious on the environment we live in even through correct waste disposal, planting own vegetables and the use of public transport.” (Violet Ruhumbika, MSc Public Health Addiction)

For any question or potential input into the course (any contribution welcome), please contact: c.v.germondduret@ljmu.ac.uk

Screenshots from the online course: