Staff development, training and resources - Words of Wisdom

Developing action focused resources that connect institutional frameworks with sustainability competencies

The Learning Design Team developed a series of sustainability skills cards (available freely here) that were informed by student feedback. Students from the University's voluntary Curriculum Design Student Panel provided insights about the language used and their perception of what they felt the different competencies meant. This work has been published in a peer reviewed book chapter.

The cards are integrated into learning design support for modules at the Open University. They have been used to support the development of activities and learning outcomes. The cards take the language of the UNESCO's sustainability competencies and turn the competencies into actionable statements that can be used or adapted in the design of new learning experiences. The cards also show the explicit links to existing institutional frameworks such as employability and digital information literacy. This work was highly commended at the Green Gown Awards 2023.

Author: The Open University's Responsible Futures Audit 2024

A badge to indicate the winner of the student vote in November 2025.

Student quotes

"The ability to relate a student's learning outcome to an international cross-compatible matrix of competencies further enhances both the student's and the institution's academic standing"

"It used student input from the CDSP."

"It stood out to me because I believe it is not enough to simply teach theories on sustainability issues but to 'practice what you preach'. What I mean by that is the OU can actively teach about sustainability issues, but they need to offer the tools to actively change the system. This knowledge is only useful if it can be applied."