Embedding Sustainability Education in a Built Environment Curriculum, ProSPER.Net: Transforming Higher Education and Creating Sustainable Societies (pp56-87).

This chapter reports on the outcomes and findings of the ProSPER.Net project "Integrating sustainability education into existing engineering and built environment curriculum", which is aimed at integrating sustainability thinking and practice into engineering and built environment curricula through a professional development programme for university academics. The central approach of the project embraced a collaborative inquiry process wherein the role of industry was considered critical to achieve project outcomes. In focusing on the main issues about applying the principles of sustainability in the built environment and the tensions with regulatory and best practice approaches, a regional approach was adopted for the project. This took account of international, national, local and sub-regional concerns to sustainability teaching and learning, and expectations of both graduates and industry. The primary output of the project was the development of a guide in the built environment disciplines such as engineering, building, and architecture, at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The wider aim of the project is to ultimately ensure that sustainability is firmly embedded in the expansion and development of further courses and offerings to students within this rapidly changing environment. Policy implications for this are clear - universities as institutions need to think and act sustainably in all areas of their business. Universities should not just focus on teaching and research in sustainability, they also need to engage with the community, manage their built and non-built assets and demonstrate by example, leading transformative practice for low carbon futures.