17 The Sustainability Education Team at TU Dublin

Dr Lucia Walsh outlined the role of TU Dublin’s Sustainability Education Team, which supports staff and students to embed sustainability meaningfully across teaching, learning, and assessment. The focus is on building capacity, fostering collaboration, and ensuring that ESD is integrated into practice in transformative rather than superficial ways.

Formal staff development includes the Level 9 CPD programme Educating for Sustainability, completed by over 100 colleagues, and the national Digital Badge in ESD, co-delivered with ATU and SETU and supported by the National Forum for Teaching and Learning. More than 400 participants across Irish higher education have engaged with the badge, which is structured around the GreenComp framework and offers an additional facilitator pathway.

Beyond formal courses, the team has facilitated over 80 workshops in the past two academic years, with 1,000+ staff involved in reviewing and redesigning programmes or modules. A comprehensive Sustainability Education Toolkit provides resources, case studies, and mapping tools (including links to the UCC SDG toolkit) to help staff incorporate sustainability into curricula.

Community and collaboration are also central. The SDG Community of Practice, launched in 2020, connects colleagues across the university through seminars and workshops. Large-scale engagement activities, such as Climate Action Week and Green Week, bring together staff, students, and partners through events ranging from tree planting and litter picks to seminars and creative activities.

Initiatives like Students Learning with Communities and play-based learning tools such as Stepping into the Doughnut, Climate Fresk, and a climate-themed Escape Room demonstrate how TU Dublin combines innovation with collaboration to foster sustainability mindsets.