Training in sustainability

Louvain-La-Neuve, Mons

LSM professors undertake further training in sustainability

In order to maintain a deep understanding of societal changes and to enhance teaching practices, the Faculty's professors undertake training in environmental awareness and sustainability. In recent months, several activities have been organised around these issues including a co-creation workshop with Célia Sapart, climatologist and IPCC expert.

To launch the session, Célia Sapart, climatologist and IPCC expert, shared her views on the climate emergency and on the solutions that exist at all levels of our society to address it.

After this moment of inspiration, a workshop led by Chloé Faton (researcher in sustainable entrepreneurship) and Audrey Beghon (LLL - UCL project manager in transition) allowed to establish a collective vision of the LSM programmes and the way they contribute and respond to the development of "SD&T" competences (necessary competences defined by UCLouvain for its students to face the challenges of Sustainable Development and Transition).

Nathalie Kruyts from the Leuven Learning Lab concluded the morning with a summary of the progress made.

 

  • Climate Fresk

Two Climate Fresks were organised in February on the Mons site: one on 10 February 2023 for the academic, scientific and administrative staff of the Faculty and the other, on 17 February 2023, for students in first year Master in Management Science and Engineering within the framework of the course 'Ethics and corporate social responsibility'.

  • Why a Climate Fresk?

On Friday 10 February, 17 members of the academic, scientific and administrative staff from LSM took part in a Climate Fresk. The Climate Fresk is a three-hour collective intelligence workshop based on the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) reports. It provides a quick understanding of the complexity of climate issues by inviting participants to establish the cause and effect links leading to climate disruption.

More and more companies are making their staff aware of the challenges of climate change via the Climate Fresk tool. UCLouvain has decided to do the same by proposing to its staff to participate in a Climate Fresk in order to integrate the current conditions of climate disruption into their research and daily life, but also to propose to the students of the ESPO and LSM faculties to be even more aware of climate disruption within the framework of their university programmes.

More information about Climate Fresco : La Fresque du Climat

As part of the Ethics and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) course on 17 February, more than 150 students participated in the Climate Fresk. This tool was an opportunity for them to learn more about the causes and consequences of human actions on the climate (disruption of the water cycle, disaster in terms of marine and terrestrial biodiversity, increase in extreme climatic phenomena such as droughts, cyclones, etc.) and the concrete repercussions on the planet for humans (decrease in agricultural yields, famine, impact on human health, wars, etc.).

During the next exercise sessions, these same students will be asked to evaluate and critique the business models and CSR reports of the companies they deal with on a daily basis when making purchases.

Involving students in the Climate Fresk is undoubtedly a prerequisite for them to develop their critical thinking in relation to their studies and their position as actors in today's world helping to prepare for tomorrow.

Published on March 28, 2023