11 Integrating the SDGs into Teaching with the UCC SDG Toolkit

Dr John Barimo introduces the UCC SDG Toolkit, a resource developed during the pandemic to help academics and students meaningfully engage with the SDGs in teaching and learning. Initially supported by National Forum and HEA funding, the toolkit was co-created with staff, students, and community partners, and has since grown into a widely recognised resource, showcased by the UN Academic Impact programme and cited in Ireland’s SDG Implementation Plan.

The toolkit goes beyond the 17 SDG icons to explore the 169 associated targets, encouraging staff to connect their teaching and research to specific, actionable goals. Its most impactful feature has been the mapping tool, enabling lecturers and students to identify where their modules, courses, or research already align with the SDGs—often revealing existing contributions that had gone unrecognised. By doing so, it supports both curriculum development and grant-writing, while also building student awareness of sustainability within their disciplines.

Dr Barimo emphasises the importance of transformative sustainability learning, using the “head, heart, and hands” framework to balance knowledge, values, and action. Professional development has been key to embedding the toolkit, delivered through workshops, design sprints, and a digital badge programme that support staff confidence in co-creating curricula with students.

With over 20,000 online views globally—including significant uptake in the Global South—the toolkit has become both a teaching hub and an international model. Plans are now underway for a version 2.0, co-created across Ireland, to expand its reach and impact.

About the author

name: Dr John Barimo

institution: University College Cork

Dr John Barimo is the Manager of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Ireland (SDSN) at University College Cork.