37 A Roadmap to Inform and Track Trinity’s ESD Journey

Dr John Gallagher presented Trinity’s work to map and measure the integration of ESD across programmes and modules, providing both a baseline and a roadmap for future action. Recognising that embedding sustainability requires evidence, his project focuses on tracking where and how ESD appears in teaching, and how this aligns with Trinity’s sustainability strategy.

The mapping framework mirrors the institutional design model: linking ESD themes, UNESCO competencies, pedagogical approaches, and assessment strategies. Module descriptors, programme handbooks, and assessment outlines are analysed using keyword searches, manual review, and increasingly AI-assisted methods. The process aims to identify both explicit sustainability content and implicit opportunities for expansion.

Dr Gallagher stressed that mapping has two key functions. At the institutional level, it provides quality assurance, supports national reporting, and informs rankings. At the disciplinary level, it enables lecturers to see how their modules align with ESD and where they could expand—without adding excessive workload. By surfacing best practice, it also creates opportunities for staff to learn from one another.

The roadmap seeks to ensure that all students encounter sustainability meaningfully during their time at Trinity, whether at undergraduate or postgraduate level. Dr Gallagher highlighted the importance of capturing not only which SDGs are referenced, but also the interconnections—so that students develop systems thinking rather than viewing goals in isolation.

This dual top-down and bottom-up approach will provide a transparent, scalable way to track Trinity’s progress, embedding ESD as a measurable and integral part of the student journey.

About the author

name: Dr John Gallagher

institution: Trinity College Dublin

Dr John Gallagher is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at Trinity College Dublin.