Ulster University has been awarded the prestigious SOS-UK Responsible Futures Accreditation.
Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS-UK) Responsible Futures is a whole-institution supported change programme and accreditation mark designed to embed sustainability across ALL aspects of student learning. Accreditation is awarded to institutions following a student-led audit of 50 criteria covering key themes such as benchmarking, leadership & strategy, policy & commitment, interventions, and outreach.
Responsible Futures is intended to support an education system which equips graduates with the necessary competencies to face and address the climate and ecological emergency and deliver on climate justice, to avoid repeating mistakes of our past. By following the Responsible Futures framework, partnerships are signposted towards and supported to realise institutional changes needed to develop a learning experience which supports graduates to develop the knowledge and understanding, skills, and attributes to actively contribute to a socially just response to the climate crisis.
Building on our longstanding work around Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), Ulster University has engaged with the Responsible Futures programme since 2022, enabling partnership working to embed ESD into the formal, informal and subliminal curriculum. The UU Responsible Futures Working Group have engaged staff and student representatives from across all Faculties, professional services and UUSU to collate, plan and progress activities and initiatives aligned to the Responsible Futures framework to successfully achieve institution-wide engagement with sustainability learning.
Six Ulster students from across faculties were recruited and trained by Responsible Futures for the two-day student-led audit, which took place at the Belfast Campus on 23 and 24 October 2024.
Students were impressed by the plethora of formalised processes designed by staff to embed sustainability into the formal curriculum. They were also impressed by the appointment of different staff who have responsibility for sustainability.
Working Group Membership
Academic Year 2023/24
- Dr Amanda Platt (Chair and ESD lead, Learning Enhancement Directorate)
- Prof Ian Montgomery (Dean for Sustainability and CSR)
- Seyi Kushimo, UUSU VP Belfast
- Dr Bronagh Magee and Dr Caroline Morrison (Faculty UUBS)
- Robert Cameron (CEBE)
- Dr Louise O'Boyle (AHSS)
- Dr Kieran Higgins (Learning Enhancement Directorate)
- Dr Oonagh McNally (Faculty LHS)
- Emma Gordon-Devlin (Employability & Graduate Futures)
Academic Year 2022/23
- Prof Ian Montgomery (Chair)
- Prof Aine McKillop (Associate Dean, Education Faculty LHS)
- Dr Amanda Platt (ESD lead, CHERP)
- Mrs Marie-Louise Gaile
- Mr Robert Millar (UUSU)
- Ms Frances Walker (Placement Student)
