Subliminal Curriculum - Words of Wisdom

About

The subliminal curriculum refers to the underlying culture and environment that promotes sustainability—not through formal teaching or extracurricular activities, but through the everyday experiences, systems, and messages students encounter. It’s about making sustainability a natural part of the learning atmosphere, even when students aren’t actively looking for it.

Subliminal learning should focus on institution-wide practices and policies that subtly shape a sustainability-focused culture. It can be most effective if sustainability content were placed in student-facing areas like 'study homepages'—places students visit regularly—so it becomes part of their everyday experience without needing to search for it.

The subliminal curriculum is an area of interest within the Responsible Futures accreditation. For more information about Responsible Futures visit their website. 

Hedgehog Friendly Campus

The Open University Student Union and The Open University got students, volunteers and staff involved in nature and conservation initiatives through Hedgehog Friendly Campus.  This was started through a student volunteer request and it gave us the push we needed to provide staff capacity to support this project since it's something that students wanted to see happen. The Estates team helped immensely with campus improvements but also paying for the accreditation which provides us with a framework for getting this work done (including litter picks engaging students and staff, organising community events, building bug hotels and running awareness campaigns). The impact was a positive one - we raised £282 through campus and wider community initiatives, including vegan bake sales and volunteer hedgehog crocheting. We raised awareness through various comms throughout the year as well as Hedgehog Awareness Week in May. We submitted enough evidence to be accredited silver status.

Author: Ciara Linehan, Open University, OpenSU projects officer.

Design Fairs/Student poster competition

Since 2018 students studying OU Design modules are invited to enter the Annual Design Competition. Students are asked to develop projects they began as part of their coursework. These projects often reflect a range of social and ecological issues. For example, U101 students learn about designing for society and T190 focuses on system thinking. Around 40 students across all levels of Undergraduate study enter the competition each year. Students submit a poster and are reviewed according to their stage of study. Examples of entries include the design of an edible and compostable water bottle, designing a solution to educate and encourage use of a community allotment, and the design of an app that communicates food expiry dates in local shops to tackle food waste. Link to competition https://www.oudesignshow.org.

Author: The Open University's Responsible Futures Audit 2024