Sustainable Development Goals

In September 2015, leaders across the world adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the UN Summit. Five years later, the climate crisis was more pressing than ever. By adopting the SDGs, communities across the world have the power to create a better world by 2030.

As mandated by students (Policy 20:09), Keele SU is committed to embedding the SDGs in all that we do, as a useful and accessible way of understanding sustainability. We know that they’re not perfect, but they’re a great way to start the conversation and get the ball rolling!

To kick off what will hopefully be an ongoing campaign for change, we’re partnering with the University and the KPA to take part in the Sustainable Development Goals Teach-In 2021.

What is the Teach-In?

The ‘SDG Teach-In’ is a national campaign to put the Global Goals for Sustainable Development at the heart of education and catalyse the change needed to make this happen. Students’ Unions across the country are rallying together to call upon educators across all stages of education to pledge to include the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within their teaching, learning, and assessment on their course(s) or in their classrooms during the two weeks of 22 February–5 March 2021.

The campaign ran for the first time in 2018, and this year the fourth Global Goals Teach-In will take place 22 February–5 March 2021, so we need to get promoting and pledging as early as we can to maximise our impact! Share your pledges on social media using the hashtag #SDGTeachIn.

If you are a student, you can register your interest here to show demand for the SDGs to be included in your teaching and learning. Where possible, and if you give permission, this will be shared with teaching staff here at Keele to encourage them to get involved.

You can also contact your teaching staff directly using this template email.

We also have our very own profile picture frame on Facebook which you can use to show your support. Simply use this link or click on your profile picture to edit it, find ‘#TeachSDGs at Keele’ and share it with your friends!

Take the pledge! Alongside being a standalone Sustainable Development Goal, education is also vital for attaining all the other goals. We know that 60% of students, regardless of discipline, want to learn more about sustainability, as demonstrated by six years of NUS-led research.

The Teach-In aims to:

• Raise awareness of the importance of sustainable development.
• Catalyse curriculum reform and test new ideas.
• Embed sustainability and social responsibility across all learning.
• Link teaching, learning, and assessment to local and global concerns.
• Prepare students with the knowledge, skills, and attributes to tackle the world’s greatest challenges.

To take part, educators pledge to include the SDGs in their teaching, learning, and assessment in one or more of their courses during the Teach-In. This happens through case studies, debate, discussion, group work, or simulations relating to topics included within the SDGs. Ideally, students learn about the SDGs and their relevance to the course.

Don’t know where to start? There are lots of resources on the Teach-In website, including videos, template slides, and more. Here are a couple of ideas to start you off:

• Take the pledge!
• Tweet about it! You could write something like: “I just joined the movement to bring @TheGlobalGoals to education! Learn about #TeachSDGs at www.TeachSDGs.org or @TeachSDGs on Twitter!”
• Read this “How To” blog from #TeachSDGs co-founder Dr Jennifer Williams to find out more.
• Add the #TeachSDGs logo or our profile picture frame to your social media accounts or email signatures.
• Encourage at least three of your colleagues to take the pledge!

Of course you can!

Staff and officers here at the SU don’t literally teach in a lecture theatre either, but the student experience is so much more than just the formal curriculum – so we have gone ahead and taken the pledge! Students learn and develop every day through clubs and societies, volunteering, opportunities to work, and so much more. There are many ways we can embed the SDGs into our work to positively impact the Keele community.

If you don’t think pledging is for you, you can still help spread the word! Maybe you could put the SDGs as a point on your next team meeting agenda, or encourage someone you think might take the pledge. However big or small your action, everything counts towards our overall goal!

Take a look at the Teach-In website to find out more, and don’t forget to take the pledge!