This Collaborative Enhancement Project explores sustainability in education through a multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural collaboration spanning the UK, Australia, and South Africa. This pioneering initiative goes beyond traditional classroom teaching, collaborating with educators, students, and industry partners, to deliver an innovative global virtual exhibition.
Project lead: University of Lincoln
About this project
In today’s world, the importance of sustainability in education cannot be overstated. That’s why our multidisciplinary, cross-cultural project, spanning the UK, Australia, and South Africa, is making groundbreaking progress. These three nations, each uniquely vulnerable to climate change, are at the forefront of efforts to enhance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4: Quality Education and SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), despite ongoing challenges (Sachs et al., 2024).
This pioneering initiative goes beyond
traditional classroom teaching. By collaborating with educators, students, and
industry partners, the project will deliver hands-on interventions and an
innovative Global Virtual Exhibition. This exhibition will not just be a
display; it will be an interactive, experiential learning journey. Students
will get the opportunity to showcase their skills, reflect on their personal
growth, and engage with real-world issues. Educators, in turn, will gain
valuable insights into how students view learning, the world of work, and the
role of education in shaping the future.
Why this project is important
We believe that working within isolated academic
disciplines is no longer enough. The future-facing workforce demands graduates
who are adaptable, ethically minded, and equipped for interdisciplinary
problem-solving. Our project integrates these critical skills into the
curriculum, aligning with the Quality Assurance Agency’s (QAA) vision for
lifelong, skills-rich learning. Through this approach, students are empowered
to tackle real-world challenges responsibly and creatively.
What truly sets this project apart is its commitment to co-creation. By bringing together voices from education, business, and the broader community, we will foster the exchange of innovative ideas and best practices in sustainability and responsible management. This directly supports the UNESCO Education 2030 Agenda, driving forward-thinking dialogue and transformative action.
Ultimately, our goal is to inspire ‘transformative practices’ through practical, action-oriented learning that prepares students for a fast-changing global job market. By elevating diverse experiences and empowering learners to act, we’re helping to shape a more sustainable and inclusive future for all.
Links to previous projects
Our project builds on insights from QAA’s Collaborative Enhancement
Projects, particularly those exploring the intersection of innovation in
education and sustainable development, such as “Exploring the opportunities
that generative artificial intelligence offers for Higher Education” and “Using
AI to promote education for sustainable development and widen access to digital
skills” and “The opportunities AI offers to higher education and the graduates
of the future”. These projects demonstrated the value of integrating innovative
frameworks to enhance learning outcomes and engage students in sustainable
practices and future thinking.
Building on the focus of the above projects on technology, we have developed methods to integrate sustainability and responsible management within a collaborative, interdisciplinary curriculum. Our emphasis on 'futuring' skills through sustainability and interdisciplinary learning is also unique and will bring fresh perspectives to QAA’s catalogue of Collaborative Enhancement Projects (CEP). Specifically, we contribute to sustainable management education, an area less commonly covered in prior CEP projects. By using a creatively futuring perspective, in our project, we will explore sustainability and innovation-based skills development as part of learning models and the changing needs of the workforce.
The project directly supports the QAA’s goals by enhancing the student learning experience through collaborative efforts across the higher education sector institutions, extending internationally. The work will help build a repository of best practices that supports lifelong, flexible learning, enhancing quality standards across the broader QAA member institutions, and encouraging more sustainable and flexible approaches across the sector.
Stages of the Project
Want to participate?
We welcome participation from academics across the UK, Australia, and South Africa via our cross-country survey.
To take part in the survey, please click here.
The project team of our QAA Collaborative Enhancement project was brought together from five institutions from across three countries: Australia (Monash University), South Africa (North-West University), and the UK (Manchester Metropolitan University, Queen Mary University of London, and the University of Lincoln).
Lead institution:
Professor Nadia Gulko, University of Lincoln, UK (PI)
Dr Judith John, University of Lincoln, UK (Co-I)
Professor Gyles Lingwood, University of Lincoln, UK (Co-I)
Partner institutions:
Professor Liz Warren, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK (Co-I)
Dr Alessandro Merendino, Queen Mary University of London, UK (CO-I)
Professor Nick McGuigan, Monash University, Australia (Co-I)
Professor Sanlie Middelberg, North-West University, South Africa (Co-I)
Professor Liandi Van Den Berg, North-West University, South Africa (Co-I)
