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Development of an Interdisciplinary, Intercultural Master’s Program on Sustainability: Learning from the Richness of Diversity

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Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe a joint effort between three European and six Latin American universities to create an international Master’s degree program on Sustainable Development and Management. Faculty members from these institutions are working together on this unusual and innovative project, which recognizes the importance of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tools in international projects and programs. The article provides information about the ongoing interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue and the learning process that is occurring throughout the development of the program.

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Notes

  1. Agenda 21 is a United Nations (UN) program related to sustainable development. It is a comprehensive blueprint for action for the 21st century—to be implemented globally, nationally and locally by UN organizations, governments, and major groups in every area relevant to sustainable development, e.g. climate change, loss of biodiversity, or poverty.

  2. For a description of the sustainability discussions and implementation of the concept within German higher education, see Adomßent and Michelsen (2006).

  3. Interdisciplinarity means cooperation among different scientific disciplines and the “integration of different disciplinary perspectives, theories and methods”. Transdisciplinarity refers to “cooperation with experts in possession of practical experience from outside the academic world” (Godemann 2006, p. 52).

  4. ALFA (América Latina-Formación Académica) is a cooperative program between the EU and Latin American higher education institutions (http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/projects/alfa/). It is one of the programs of EuropeAid, an EU organization responsible for implementing all external assistance outside the EU.

  5. Skype is a peer-to-peer internet telephony network.

  6. Blended learning combines face-to-face learning processes with virtual learning elements.

  7. The virtual platform uses the Documentum eRoom groupware. The Open Universiteit Nederland already has long time experience using this software in virtual learning activities.

  8. In the third semester, each university will offer modules that allow students to specialize in those areas in which the respective university has particular expertise.

  9. The VEC attempts to generate a networked environment that resembles an authentic professional situation. Students’ working/learning in the VEC addresses authentic requests on behalf of external clients. Clients could be different types of industries, as well as a whole range of public sector institutions. The VEC model is thus not an extended role-playing game; rather it brings students into real-life contact with stakeholders and with stakeholder participation.

  10. Second International Conference in Higher Education for Sustainable Development “World in Transition-Sustainability Perspectives for Higher Education”, see http://hesd07.uaslp.mx.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science, Open Universiteit Nederland, Postbus 2960, Heerlen, 6401, The Netherlands

    Rietje van Dam-Mieras & Angelique Lansu

  2. Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication, Universität Lüneburg, Scharnhorststr.1, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany

    Marco Rieckmann & Gerd Michelsen

Authors
  1. Rietje van Dam-Mieras
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  2. Angelique Lansu
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  3. Marco Rieckmann
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  4. Gerd Michelsen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marco Rieckmann.

Additional information

Rietje van Dam-Mieras

holds a M.Sc. in Chemistry and Ph.D. in Biochemistry (Utrecht University) and is Professor in Natural Sciences, specifically Biochemistry and Biotechnology, at the School of Science of the Open Universiteit Nederland, Heerlen, The Netherlands. Special interests are biotechnology and sustainable development.

Angelique Lansu

has a M.Sc. in Soil Science (Wageningen University), and she is Lecturer at the School of Science of the Open Universiteit Nederland, Heerlen, The Netherlands. Special interests are earth sciences,e-learning, and education for sustainable development.

Marco Rieckmann

holds a Diploma in Environmental Sciences (University of Lüneburg) and is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication, University of Lüneburg, Germany. Special interests are education for sustainable development/global education, the concept of sustainability in North-South discourse, and development theories and policy. e-mail: rieckmann@uni-lueneburg.de.

Gerd Michelsen

holds a Diploma in Political Economics (University of Freiburg), Dr. rer. pol. (University of Freiburg), Dr. phil. habil. (University of Hannover). He serves as the Director of the Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication, University of Lüneburg, Germany, and is also the UNESCO Chair of Higher Education for Sustainable Development at the same institution. Special interests are education and sustainability, higher education for sustainable development, and environmental and sustainability communication.

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van Dam-Mieras, R., Lansu, A., Rieckmann, M. et al. Development of an Interdisciplinary, Intercultural Master’s Program on Sustainability: Learning from the Richness of Diversity. Innov High Educ 32, 251–264 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-007-9055-7

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