Integration of university careers and volunteering services, curriculum provision and local voluntary organisations
This project aims to identify the opportunities for students to develop sustainability skills (promoting community cohesion, environmental sustainability and organisational social responsibility) in volunteering activities and work placement, as well as in aspects of the curriculum that support and accredit the development of these skills. The project will involve partnership working between the London Met student volunteering service (‘Reach’), the Department of Applied Social Sciences and local voluntary organisations in the social and environmental sectors. It aims to produce a report analysing the sustainability skills valued by voluntary sector employers, and best practice guidelines on how to develop these skills.
Timescale
May, 2008 - May, 2009
Key contact(s):
Nicholas Watts, London Metropolitan University
www.londonmet.ac.uk/depts/dass/staff/nicholaswatts
Funded by:
Higher Education Academy (Education for Sustainable Development)
Project aims:
- Document tangible effects of student volunteering in local communities and linked communities in developing countries.
- Address debates over the role of the academy in the sustainable development of its community.
Outcomes:
A report describing current practice at London Metropolitan University; the evaluation by students and employers of provision, and an exploratory analysis of what ‘skills for sustainability’ means for the University, its students and employers.
Recommendations regarding policy integration and means of reaching out to improve access for students, especially those from Black, Asian, minority ethnic and refugee (BAMER) communities, to volunteering opportunities with an explicit focus on attainment of skills relevant to ‘sustainability’, in particular community cohesion in a context of environmental sustainability.
Links:
Higher Education Academy – Sustainability Project Page
www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/learning/sustainability
Further resources available on our website:
Education for Sustainable Development
www.llas.ac.uk/projects/2315
