DOI
10.1108/IJSHE-01-2019-0050

Summary
This paper is concerned with the study of university-student partnerships through the analysis of four student-led sustainability projects. It aims to deliver data on their effectiveness and draw recommendations for the improvement of other institutions and their stakeholder partnerships. Briggs et al., begin the paper by introducing the topic of sustainable development, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the relevance of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) to the study.

The research uses a single case study approach by (Yin, 2009) to assess the collaboration between the University, students and the student union (SU) for the student-led sustainability projects. Keele’s university committed to a ‘deep green’ philosophy in 2008. They implemented sustainability into their strategic plan, mission and vision shortly after that and also adopted environmental management, ESD, energy management, carbon management, recycling and waste management into the campus environment. The authors state that ‘Keele’s Education for Sustainability strategy aims for all students to graduate having and the opportunity through the formal, co- and hidden curricula to engage in activities that will help them to view decisions in their personal lives and professional lives through a sustainability lens’ .

The student led projects include;

The Great Donate – encourage the student body to donate to onsite British Heart Foundation collection boxes, donate unwanted bedding, towels and homeware (for charity resale), and to donate unwanted technology to be redistributed to wanting owners.
Keele Food Co-op (Think:Green student society) – aimed to help students access organic and locally produced food produce free from plastic packaging. This was funded by the UK’s National Union of Students (NUS).
Sustainability Voice Representatives (SVR) – the facilitation of student feedback on course content to programme teams at the university. Aiming to embed ESD theory across various disciplines.
Student Sustainability Bungalow – students of BSc Environmental and Sustainability programme who wanted to “live what they were learning”. Their interest led to a partnership between programme directors and a collaborative effort of campus estates and accommodation to provide four students the opportunity to live in a bungalow with a communal kitchen, living area, and garden space allowing students to grow their own produce and trial a number sustainable living practices.




The four projects are discussed in depth under each of their respective headings. The analysis of their collaborative efforts has led to the following recommendations to implement and ecurage similar partnerships between students and university bodies.

Key stakeholders – utilising the various student bodies available e.g. SU, NUS, ESD directors, programme leaders and other relevant staff capable of mobilising and lobbying the projects.
Communication and early planning – maintaining awareness of the varying the availability of student and staff co-curricular time. Encouraging face-to-face communication and pre-planning opportunities for those interested in such projects.
Providing space to fail – create an environment (safe space) that does not result in major consequences of failure.
Developing reflective practice to aid learning – encourage a reflective philosophy during project work to enhance the learning experience of students.

Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
The study is relevant to sustainable development and the SDGs. It offers useful advice for the improvement of institution partnerships, making the study applicable to reimagining HEIs.

Briggs et al., reference the united nations for their definition of the SDGs as ‘a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all’.

The student led sustainability projects, as summarised above, could be useful examples of innovative sustainability practice in HEIs. These projects could replicated in other HEIs or workplaces to develop a meaningful ethos or understanding of sustainable development through real world experiences. The process of planning, implementing and running these projects promotes the use of interdisciplinary thinking as well as systems thinking to some extent. This is particularly true for the SVR project where by students require the understanding or will develop the understanding of interdisciplinary thinking as they attempt to encourage ESD theory across multiple disciplines/programmes.

Point of Strength
The paper offers clear examples student-led sustainability initiatives that may prove useful for other HEIs aiming to encourage the same behaviour and ethos. These examples are correlated with the notion of reimagining education at HEIs. The four projects mentioned above are discussed in detail making for a useful roadmap if replication is considered. The four projects could be realigned for the use in an assignment. For example, the Food Co-op mentioned above could be written up as a practical, experiential learning experience assignment requiring students to research and report on the logistics of setting up a similar project or simply sourcing food products in a sustainable manner.