Yliopistopedagogiikan keskus HYPE ja Kestävyystieteen instituutti HELSUS järjestivät 7.12.2021 klo 9:15-10:45 Kestävyysosaaminen opetussuunnitelmatyössä -työpajan. Työpajassa esiteltiin Flammasta löytyvät opetussuunnitelmakauden 2023-2026 suunnittelun tueksi laaditut kestävyysosaamisen ohjeet, pohdittiin miten tieteenalakohtaista kestävyysosaamista voidaan vahvistaa sekä jaettiin tähän liittyviä käytäntöjä. Alla työpajan videotallenne sekä työpajassa jaetut materiaalit.
Jos haluat täyttää Osaamiskarttaa työyhteisön kanssa Flingassa, kannattaa ladata oheiset kuvatiedostot taustakuviksi Flingaan. Lisäohjeita Flingan hyödyntämiseen löytyy Osaamiskartan lopusta.
How to embed sustainability into university teaching is the question that we asked from Rodrigo Lozano, Professor of Organisational Sustainability from the University of Gävle, Sweden who visited HELSUS at the beginning of November. See the interview below.
This video has English subtitles you can switch them on by clicking this icon:
Professor Lozano has researched the ways of how to embed sustainability into university teaching with his team. He emphasises the need to understand that since every discipline is different it is not possible to cover every study program with the same sustainability. He encourages all persons involved in the curricula design process to ask themselves that, how your own discipline can contribute to sustainability. For example at the economic, environmental or social level. He also notes that, the aim is to make students also understand how their actions affect sustainability in their chosen careers.
Sustainability expertise to every study program at the University of Helsinki is a Strategic goal set by the board of the University. University of Helsinki Sustainability course was a starting point for work that now continues as a process of embedding the sustainability expertise widely into the programs. Since the work for new curricula of 2023-2026 has begun in the faculties and study programs of the University of Helsinki it is important to discuss and ideate on how to embed sustainability in a way that creates sustainability expertise for every student graduating from the University of Helsinki.
According to the new strategic plan of the University of Helsinki for 2021–2030, the theme of sustainability is to run through all of the University’s educational offerings. This means making sustainability expertise part of discipline-specific knowledge and skills as well as generic expert skills.
The links below provide more detailed instructions, with the aim of supporting staff of the University of Helsinki design new degree programme curricula that strengthen academic expertise with sustainability expertise. In curriculum design, degree programmes should describe the sustainability expertise they provide and enable in terms of the following goals:
Strengthening of discipline-specific sustainability expertise
Which knowledge, skills, values and attitudes are key to discipline-specific sustainability expertise?
Which Sustainable Development Goals of the UN are central to the degree programme (or study track), or how do the degree objectives support the sustainability transformation, or how do the degree objectives support the understanding of sustainability specific to the discipline?
Development into a sustainability expert
How are studies that support the development of sustainability expertise included in the curriculum?
Bachelor’s programmes: The curriculum can include the Sustainability course (SUST-001, 3 cr) as either discipline-specific studies or general studies. The curriculum can also include a course worth five credits designed by the degree programme, which includes the knowledge and skills provided by SUST-001 (3 cr) and a discipline-specific component worth two credits. These courses can be either compulsory or optional in the curriculum.
Master’s programmes: The degree structure should allow students to complete the Sustainability course (SUST-001, 3 cr).
Doctoral programmes: Sustainability expertise should be included in the degree.
Strengthening of sustainability skills as part of generic expert skills
How does the degree support the acquisition of generic expert skills, which include sustainability skills?
Helsingin yliopiston uudessa strategiassa vuosille 2021–2030 kestävyys sisällytetään läpikäyvästi koulutustarjontaan. Tämä tarkoittaa kestävyysosaamisen tuomista osaksi tieteenalakohtaisia tietoja ja taitoja sekä geneerisiä asiantuntijataitoja.
Alla olevista linkeistä löytyy tarkempia ohjeita, joiden tavoitteena on tukea Helsingin yliopiston henkilökuntaa laatimaan koulutusohjelmien uusia opetussuunnitelmia, jotka vahvistavat akateemista asiantuntijuutta kestävyysosaamisella. Opetussuunnitelmatyössä koulutusohjelmat kuvaavat, millaista kestävyysosaamista koulutusohjelma tuottaa ja mahdollistaa seuraavien tavoitteiden osalta:
Mitkä tiedot, taidot, arvot ja asenteet ovat keskeisiä tieteenalakohtaisen kestävyysosaamisen kannalta?
Mitkä YK:n kestävän kehityksen tavoitteet ovat keskeisiä koulutusohjelman (tai opintosuunnan) kannalta, tai miten tutkinnon tavoitteet tukevat kestävyysmurrosta, tai miten tutkinnon tavoitteet tukevat tieteenalan piirissä käytettyä jäsennystä kestävyydestä?
Kestävyysasiantuntijaksi oppiminen
Miten opetusuunnitelmaan on sisällytetty kestävyysasiantuntijuuden kehittymistä tukevia opintoja?
Kandiohjelma: Opetussuunnitelmaan voidaan sisällyttää Kestävyyskurssi (SUST-001, 3 op) tieteenalaopintoina tai yleisopintoina. Opetussuunnitelmaan voidaan sisällyttää myös koulutusohjelmien kehittämä 5 op laajuinen opintojakso, johon sisältyy SUST-001 osaaminen (3 op) sekä 2op laajuinen tieteenalakohtainen osio. Em. opintojakson suorittaminen voi olla opetussuunnitelmassa pakollista tai valinnaista.
Mitä: Työpaja kestävyysosaamisen sisällyttämisestä opetussuunnitelmaan
Milloin: ti 7.12.2021 klo 9:15-10:45
Missä: Zoomissa
Miten: Ilmoittaudu e-lomakkeella
Helsingin yliopiston uudessa strategiassa vuosille 2021–2030 kestävyys sisällytetään läpikäyvästi koulutustarjontaan. Tämä tarkoittaa kestävyysosaamisen tuomista osaksi tieteenalakohtaisia tietoja ja taitoja sekä geneerisiä asiantuntijataitoja.
Tervetuloa Kestävyysosaaminen opetussuunnitelmatyössä -työpajaan ti 7.12.2021 klo 9:15-10:45. Työpaja on suunnattu kaikille koulutusohjelmansa opetussuunnitelmatyössä mukana oleville henkilökunnan jäsenille, jotka ovat kiinnostuneet kestävyysosaamisen vahvistamisesta omalla tieteenalalla. Työpajassa esitellään Flammasta löytyvät opetussuunnitelmakauden 2023-2026 suunnittelun tueksi laaditut kestävyysosaamisen ohjeet, pohditaan miten tieteenalakohtaista kestävyysosaamista voidaan vahvistaa sekä jaetaan tähän liittyviä käytäntöjä.
Työpajan järjestävät Yliopistopedagogiikan keskus HYPE ja Kestävyystieteen instituutti HELSUS. Työpaja järjestetään suomeksi. Järjestämme kevätlukukaudella lisää työpajoja myös englanniksi. Lähetämme ilmoittautuneille osallistumislinkin ennen työpajaa. Työpajan alkuosa ennen keskustelua videoidaan ja jaetaan myöhemmin osana Flamman ohjeita. Tervetuloa mukaan!
What: Workshop for the Sustainability expertise in Curriculum design
When: tue 7.12.2021 klo 9:15-10:45
Where: in Zoom
How: Please register in advance here
Please note: This workshop will be held in Finnish. We will organize more workshops (also in English) during the spring semester.
According to the new strategic plan of the University of Helsinki for 2021–2030, the theme of sustainability is to run through all of the University’s educational offerings. This means making sustainability expertise part of discipline-specific knowledge and skills as well as generic expert skills.
Welcome to the Sustainability expertise in Curriculum design -workshop on Tue 7.12.2021 from 9:15 to 10:45. The workshop is aimed at all staff members involved in the curriculum design of their degree program and who are interested in strengthening sustainability expertise in their field. The workshop will present the guidelines for sustainability expertise found in Flamma to support the curriculum design for 2023-2026, discuss how to strengthen discipline-specific sustainability expertise and share related practices.
The workshop will be organized by the Centre for University Teaching and Learning HYPE and the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science HELSUS. This workshop will be held in Finnish. We will organize more workshops (also in English) during the spring semester. We will send a registration link to those who have registered before the workshop. The first part of the workshop before the discussion will be recorded and distributed later as part of instructions in Flamma. Welcome aboard!
Jokaisen pitää laajentaa tietopohjaansa kestävästä kehityksestä. Olipa intohimosi kulttuuri, politiikka tai ympäristönsuojelu, ratkaisujasi tarvitaan enemmän kuin koskaan.
Tervetuloa uudelle Helsingin yliopiston monitieteiselle kestävyyskurssille toisessa periodissa 1.11.-19.12.2021.Kurssin aikana kurssisisältöjä kehitetään vielä, joten sinulla on erinomainen mahdollisuus vaikuttaa siihen millaista kestävyysopetus yliopistossa on tulevaisuudessa. Mukana opetusmateriaalien kehittämisessä on ollut yli 160 yliopiston tutkijaa, opettajaa ja opiskelijaa, mutta jotta kurssi palvelisi opiskelijoita mahdollisimman hyvin, opiskelijoiden antamaa kurssipalautetta hyödynnetään kestävyyskurssin kehittämisessä.
Kurssilla tutustutaan kestävyyskysymysten kompleksisuuteen ja monitieteisyyteen, sekä niiden eettisiin ja filosofisiin ulottuvuuksiin. Kurssilla ohjataan pohtimaan omaa roolia tulevana asiantuntijana ja yhteiskunnan jäsenenä kestävyyskysymysten ratkaisemisessa sekä tarjotaan työkaluja omalle toimijuudelle. Lisäksi kurssilla tutustutaan, miten kestävyysmurrosta voidaan edistää eri näkökulmista, joita ovat globaalien luonnonjärjestelmien turvaaminen, hyvinvointi ja mahdollisuudet muutokseen, kestävä ja oikeudenmukainen talous, kestävä ja terveellinen ruokajärjestelmä, ilmastonmuutos ja oikeudenmukainen energiasiirtymä sekä kaupunkiseutujen kehitys.
Kurssi on verkkokurssi, ja se järjestetään mooc.helsinki.fi -alustalla. Moduulit koostuvat lukemistosta, videoista sekä oppimista tukevista verkkoaktiviteeteista, kuten ryhmäkeskusteluista, tiedonanalysointitehtävistä, testeistä ja projektityöskentelystä. Kurssi on 3 opintopisteen laajuinen ja osallistujien määrä on rajattu 300 osallistujalle.
Tule rakentamaan kestävää tulevaisuutta! Lue kurssin tarkka kuvaus ja ilmoittaudu SISUssa! Koska SISU on uusi järjestelmä, teimme sinulle tarkat ohjeet ilmoittautumista varten. Tarkemmat kurssin suoritusohjeet sekä linkki ja salasana kurssialueelle lähetetään ilmoittautuneille sähköpostitse ennen kurssin alkua. Kurssi on Helsingin yliopiston opiskelijoille, mutta kuka tahansa voi tutustua kurssimateriaaleihin kestävyyskurssin selailuversiossa (huom. tämä ei ole varsinainen kurssialue). Alueelle pääsee myös vierailijana ilman rekisteröitymistä valitsemalla “Log in as a guest” / “Kirjaudu vierailijana”.
Everyone should expand their knowledge base on sustainable development. Whether your passion is culture, politics or environmental protection, your solutions are needed more than ever.
Welcome to the new multidisciplinary course of University of Helsinki in the second period (1.11.-19.12.2021). The course content will be developed during the course, so you will have a unique opportunity to develop the course and influence the future of sustainability education at the University. Over 160 university researchers, teachers and students have been developing the course materials. We use students’ feedback for developing the course further.
The course will introduce you to the complexity and multidisciplinarity of sustainability issues, along with their ethical and philosophical dimensions. The course will guide you to consider your role as a future professional and a member of society in solving sustainability issues and provides you with tools for your own work. In addition, the course explores different perspectives of sustainability, like protecting different natural systems, human well-being and capabilities, sustainable and just economies, sustainable food systems and healthy nutrition, climate change and just energy transitions, and urban and peri-urban development.
The course is an online course and is organized on the mooc.helsinki.fi platform. The modules consist of online activities such as readings, videos, group discussions, data analysis tasks, quizzes, and project work. The pilot version is worth of 3 credits and the number of participants is limited to 300 students.
Please note, that in the course some of the learning materials are in Finnish, but you are welcome to take the course even if you don’t speak Finnish.
Sustainable future needs you! Read the course description and register in SISU!Because SISU is a new system, we made you instructions for enrolling on the course. More detailed instructions for completing the course will be sent by e-mail before the start of the course to those who have registered. The course is for students of the University of Helsinki, but anyone can explore the materials in the course preview version. It is possible to log in the course area as a guest and no registration is needed (click “Log in as a guest”/ “Kirjaudu vierailijana”).
Helsingin yliopisto on ottanut käyttöön uuden Sisu järjestelmän, jonka kautta opintojen suunnitelu ja kurssi-ilmoittautuminen hoidetaan jatkossa. Koska kestävyyskurssi on vapaavalintainen kurssi, se ei löydy automaattisesti kenenkään opintosuunnitelmasta. Haluamme tarjota ohjeet kurssin lisäämiseksi ensisijaiseen opintosuunnitelmaan ja ilmoittautumiseen.
Mene sisussa ensisijaiseen opintosuunnitelmaasi ja klikkaa sitä moduulia, johon haluat sijoittaa kestävyyskurssin. (esim. vapaa valintaiset opinnot/muut opinnot)
Valitse hakusarake “lisää suunnitelmaan” ja etsi SUST-001. Klikkaamalla hakutulosta kurssi lisätään suunnitelmaasi.
Seuraavaksi valitaan suoritustapa. Klikkaa auki kurssiesite painamalla kurssia suunnitelmassasi.
Tarkista kurssin nimen alla olevasta valikosta, että sinulla on valittuna vuosien 21–22, 22–23 toteutus. Vaihda vuosi tarvittaessa.
Valitse kurssiesitteestä välilehti suoritustapa ja valitse tapa yksi. Huomioithan, että perustutkinto opiskelijana valitset tämän tavan, etkä esimerkiksi avoimen yliopiston tapaa. Vahvista valinta painamalla vihreää “Valitse tämä tapa”-painiketta sivun keskellä.
Edellisen valinnan jälkeen oikean reunan ”valitse” -painike muuttuu siniseksi, painamalla sitä vahvistat tavan ”osallistuminen opetukseen”. Seuraavana ilmoittautuminen.
Sivun yläreunaan pitäisi ilmestyä banneri, josta voit siirtyä ilmoittautumiseen. Jos banneri ei ilmesty pääset samaan paikkaan Sisun päävalikon opintokalenterista.
Kurssi pitäisi löytyä “ilmoittautuminen ja opetus” valikosta. Paina “Ilmoittaudu”
Sen jälkeen avautuvassa ikkunassa paina “vahvista”. Jos kurssi on ensisijaisessa opintosuunnitelmassasi ja kurssilla on tilaa sinut hyväksytään kurssille automaattisesti.
Hienoa! Olet nyt onnistuneesti ilmoittautunut kestävyyskurssille. Tervetuloa!
The University of Helsinki has rolled out a new SISU system for study planning and course enrolment. Since the Sustainability course is optional it is not included anyone’s study plan by default. Because of that, we want to provide you with a step by step guide on how to add the course to your primary study plan and enrol successfully.
Go to your primary study plan and choose the module in which you want to include the Sustainability course. (For example, other studies)
Choose search tool” add to the plan” and search SUST-001. By clicking the search result the course will be added to your plan automatically
Next you need to choose the completion method. Press the name of the course in your study plan and the course info will open.
Check that you have the right academic year selected if not change it to 2021-2022, 2022-2023.
Go to the page” Completion Methods” and chose “Method 1”. Please note: do not choose the open university method if youre student in University of Helsinki. Then confirm the method by choosing the green button saying “select this completion method”
After the latest step ”select” button in the right will change its colour to blue and by choosing it you confirm the teaching in the method.
After these two confirmations a blue banner should appear at the top of the screen including the link to enrolment. If not, you can always go to the same place by choosing “study calendar” from SISU main menubar.
You should be able to find the course from the enrolment menu, if so click “enrol”.
After that new enrolment window opens. Choose “confirm”. If the course is in your primary study plan and there is spaces left you will be automatically added to the course.
Great! You have now successfully added the Sustainability course to your study plan and enrolled. Welcome to the course!
Three new trainees and one non-military serviceman have started working at HELSUS this week! Here you can get to know the new faces that are working with the sustainability course this autumn.
My name is Emma-Reeta Käsmä and I will be part of the HELSUS and sustainability course team for the next 5 months as an intern. I’ve lived in Helsinki for a while but originally, I’m from a small town in Northern Ostrobothnia. I’m a student in the Society and Change master program in the faculty of Social Sciences and my major is Economic and Social History. I’m about to begin my master thesis next spring and my current idea is to concentrate on socio-historical aspects of sustainability in the development of public transport systems in Helsinki.
My main responsibilities as an intern in HELSUS will focus on the development of the Sustainability Course by organising workshops and events in the university and enchaining the communication between different stakeholders of the course. I’m looking forward to these next months. I’m sure it will bring lots of new experiences and interesting viewpoints to sustainability.
My name is Sini Holopainen, and I am a new HELSUS trainee of autumn 2021. At HELSUS I am looking forward to all the new and interesting tasks with communications, sustainability course, content creating and so on. I have only the thesis and traineeship left in my global sustainability (ECGS) studies, so I hope I will soon become a Master of Social Sciences. From all the sustainability issues I think I’m most interested in learning more about systemic and societal changes towards more sustainable societies, cultures and lifestyles. My wish for the future is that after graduation I can help our planet Earth and its beings to thrive with my work. Working at HELSUS feels like a perfect opportunity, and I am happy about being part of this community that has similar interests and values to me.
Last spring, I started a new hobby, planting my own vegetable garden. Even though I identify myself more as a social scientist, I am interested in how the ecosystems work and how we can live peacefully with all other beings, including plants. In my life I wish to create a stronger connection with the natural world which I am obviously a part of. I think a stronger bond with the natural world is essential so we can create a more sustainable future in which we all are able to enjoy our unique trip here on Earth.
Hi! My name is Eero Ketola and I am doing my non-military service at HELSUS for the next eleven months. I did my bachelor’s degree in environmental science, and for the past year I have studied environmental change in the ECGS master’s program, in which I have focused on northern ecosystems and environment and urban studies. I am also interested in the different aspects of sustainability, environmental change and change in society. After graduation I hope to work with sustainability issues and environmental topics, either in research or through other avenues, and I think working at HELSUS is a great opportunity to learn loads of new things and contribute productively.
I am very much looking forward to working at HELSUS for the next year with many different tasks, including work on the co-creation lab and the sustainability course. The sustainability course is part of an important effort of shedding more light on not only different sustainability issues, but also on what exactly sustainability and its different aspects are. I am excited to be part of this community and team, and I’m looking forward to doing my little part in advancing sustainable change at the university and in society.
My name is Saara Varis, and I will be working as a HELSUS trainee for the next six months. My responsibilities will be focused on communication tasks such as website and blog updates, social media communication, content creation, and communication related to HELSUS seminars, but I will be working on other tasks as well.
I did my Bachelor’s degree in Geography, and I am currently studying in the ECGS Master’s program, on the Global Sustainability side. I am in my second year, so I only have less than a year left of my studies. I am passionate about all things sustainability, but my particular interests include sustainability issues related to consumption, food, climate change, as well as sustainable development. Moreover, in my free time I like to be active, especially with my dance hobby, and spend time outdoors with my family dogs and horses.
I am super excited to have the opportunity to do my internship at HELSUS and I cannot wait to really get started with the job and my diverse tasks. I look forward to learning more about sustainability-related work, communications, and HELSUS operations. It is truly inspiring to be able to work with the things I am sincerely passionate about and with people who share this same passion for sustainability! I believe we can do wonderful things together and advance a sustainability transition.
The preview version of the Sustainability course, created collectively at the University of Helsinki, is now open. Learning materials were produced by over a 160 members of the University of Helsinki, including students, researchers, teachers and other staff.
The Sustainability course includes two compulsory modules, which introduce the sustainability as a concept, the complex nature of sustainability problems and possible solutions for sustainability challenges. After these students can choose which of the six thematic modules they want to study more in depth. The options are: A: Global environmental commons, B: Human well-being and capabilities, C: Sustainable and just economies, D: Sustainable food systems and healthy nutrition, E: Climate change and just energy transitions, and F: Urban and peri-urban development. Course also includes a sustainability themed project assignment, which will be completed in multidisciplinary student groups.
The course administration can not register credits for the course preview version and some of the assignments are not available. However, it is possible to read the course materials, watch the videos and try quizzes and optional assignments. Next time, the Sustainability Course will be organized for students at the University of Helsinki in the autumn of 2021 in period 2.
The first pilot of the course was organized in the spring of 2021 and was well received. About 80 percent of participants were satisfied with the first version of the course and would recommend it to others. Student feedback is currently being analyzed and will be used to further develop the course. The course material will also be translated into Finnish, Swedish and English.
Helsingin yliopiston yhteisöllisesti rakennetun Kestävyyskurssin selailuversio on avattu. Opetusmateriaalien laatimiseen osallistui yli 160 yliopistoyhteisön jäsentä: opiskelijoita, tutkijoita ja opettajia sekä muuta henkilöstöä.
Kestävyyskurssi koostuu kahdesta kaikille pakollisesta moduulista, joissa käsitellään kestävyyttä käsitteenä, kestävyyskysymysten monimutkaisuutta sekä ratkaisuja kestävyyskysymyksiin. Tämän jälkeen opiskelija voi valita yhden kuudesta teemamoduulista, jonka hän opiskelee tarkemmin. Valittavia teemamoduuleja ovat A: Globaalien luonnonjärjestelmien turvaaminen, B: Hyvinvointi ja mahdollisuudet muutokseen, C: Kestävä ja oikeudenmukainen talous, D: Kestävä ja terveellinen ruokajärjestelmä, E: Ilmastonmuutos ja oikeudenmukainen energiasiirtymä ja F: Kaupunkiseutujen kehitys. Kurssiin kuuluu myös kestävyysaiheinen projektityö, joka toteutetaan monitieteisissä opiskelijaryhmissä.
Kurssin selailuversiosta ei rekisteröidä opintopisteitä, ja osa kurssin tehtävistä on suljettuina. Selailuversion avulla voi kuitenkin tutustua laajaan kurssilukemistoon, videoihin ja monivalintatehtäviin. Seuraavan kerran Kestävyyskurssi järjestetään Helsingin yliopiston opiskelijoille syksyllä 2021 periodissa 2.
Kurssin ensimmäinen pilotointi järjestettiin keväällä 2021 ja se sai hyvän vastaanoton. Noin 80 prosenttia osallistujista oli kurssin ensimmäiseen versioon tyytyväisiä ja suosittelisi sitä muillekin. Opiskelijapalautetta koostetaan parhaillaan, ja sen avulla kurssia kehitetään edelleen. Kurssin materiaali käännetään myös suomeksi, ruotsiksi ja englanniksi.
The University of Helsinki opened a pilot version of a new multidisciplinary sustainability course in the fourth period. In the course students learned about the complexity and multidisciplinarity of sustainability issues and got tools to understand their role as an individual and an expert in the field to answer these challenges.
Students were also participating in multidisciplinary teams to solve sustainability challenges on a topic of their own choosing. We interviewed two groups about their course experience.
Worm compost for kindergartens
Helmi Kohonen and Jukka Kivelä came to the course to get a more holistic view of sustainability science. Kohonen said that the course gave her an opportunity to include sustainability science, which she was really interested in, to her degree, even though it was not initially part of her degree program. Kohonen and Kivelä found the course also useful, as it encouraged them to think about their own emotions, attitudes and values regarding sustainability.
-It is really challenging and even uncomfortable to notice your own routine-like behaviors and mind obstacles. I found it really useful that the course also gave an opportunity for my own personal reflection, Kohonen says.
The group of Kohonen and Kivelä presented an idea of bringing up worm compost to kindergartens. The compost would provide an opportunity to use the produced food waste already at site in front of kids, and to produce soil amendment for own small scale vegetable garden. Through play, children would learn to think about biowaste as an important resource, understand the cycle of nature, and become pioneers of circular economy.
-For children, worms are interesting creatures and earthworm composting is an ideal way to give environmental education. It is easy to implement and gives a lot of fun opportunities to adapt new skills and knowledge, the team summarizes their idea.
Kohonen and Kivelä conclude that their group work process was successful, despite the challenges posed by working remotely. The group chose their topic collective, by combining the areas of expertise and interests of all team members. They also felt that the team members completed one another, which enabled everyone to bring their own expertise and skills to the project.
Picture: Helmi Kohonen
Invasive species are unwanted winners of climate change
Anniina Hämäläinen, Oona Koskenvesa, Anna Ahdekivi and Mari Kolkki came to the sustainability course to learn more about the questions surrounding sustainability and to gain a broader understanding of the theme that goes beyond what they have learned in the courses of their degree majors. They found the course interesting also because of its interdisciplinarity and the opportunity it provided to work together with students from various fields.
When choosing the topic for their group work, they wanted to turn the idea of climate change sufferers on its head. Thus, they asked an opposing question: who are the beneficiaries of climate change? The answer for them was – well of course invasive species.
As a solution to the problems caused by invasive species, the group presented an invasive species phone application, which could be used to report observations of invasive species. The application would also provide a platform to search areas for voluntary weed control and to tell others about the already weeded areas. The group also proposed a general permit for removing invasive species, because at the moment it is necessary to ask permission of the land owner to remove invasive species. The general permit would make the process of removing species easier and faster. In addition, the state could start up a deposit-refund system, which would operate like the Finnish bottle recycling system. After participating to the invasive species weed control training, people would be granted with a small compensation from removing invasive species.
The group told that their group work was very effective. Their diverse backgrounds brought very different knowledge and expertise the work, which was integral for coming up with a solution to the challenge.
The next pilot will open for students in the fall
In the course feedback, around 80 % of the students were completely or mostly satisfied to the course, and about 77 % would recommend it for others as well. Students also gave a lot of development ideas, which will be used to improve the course material. In addition, few completely new study modules are now opened in the course’s MOOC area.
Several amazing elevator pitches were also produced by students as a part of their groupwork. Watch a video by Jenna Kuivalainen, Pinja Jääskeläinen, Meri Konttila and Emma Tuomisto about the ways to solve the biodiversity crisis in Finnish forests. Video is in Finnish.
Sustainability course will be organized next time in the autumn 2021 period 2.
