Green Skills – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities
On 5th of December 2024 Green Skills – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities Workshops were held as a part of the implementation of the Task 4.5. Disseminating the values of a green, digital and resilient 4EU+ Alliance of the 1CORE project.
The main objective of the event was to identify the needed green skills that different stakeholder groups require to facilitate the green and digital transition.
Participants sought to answer the following questions:
- What role do higher education institutions play in the transition process?
- How can green competences be effectively integrated into curricula?
Event Partners:
Polska Zielona Sieć – Polish Green Network is an association of leading regional environmental NGOs in Poland. The network carries out awareness raising campaigns and policy work aimed at promoting sustainable development.
Climate-KIC – Europe’s leading climate innovation agency and community. EIT Climate-KIC helps create climate – resilient societies and fight the climate breakdown, building better futures for local communities globally.
The selection of such significant partners – representing both the perspective of bottom-up social action (Polish Green Network) and the highest level of European innovation policy (Climate-KIC) – emphasises that the 4EU+ Alliance is not only engaged in academic discussion, but is also actively involved in practical, cross-sectoral efforts to build competencies for a sustainable future.
The event was attended by representatives of:
- the academic community of the University of Warsaw – students, academic staff and administrative staff, including
● representatives of external stakeholders: representatives of NGOs, municipal authorities and educational institutions, including:
The workshop aimed to build trust, increase potential and support the cross-sectoral cooperation necessary to initiate transformative systemic changes in the education system, especially in higher education institutions. The main objective of the event was to enable various stakeholders to explore how the development of green skills can help identify innovative pathways to sustainable development.
The following recommendations were developed during the workshops:
- Introduction of university-wide lectures on sustainable development and the climate crisis;
- Introduction of a compulsory course on sustainable development and the climate crisis in all study programmes;
- Strengthening cooperation between academia and the business sector to facilitate the practical application of environmental skills, e.g. through internships;
- Organising regular awareness campaigns to deepen students’ knowledge of sustainable development and the climate crisis.
