Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research – CLEAR, CUHK

The program aims to cultivate students as globally minded change-makers equipped for sustainable futures. Central to this initiative is the Intercultural Business pathway, which emphasizes critical engagement with sustainability and intercultural challenges over two academic years. Grounded in the OECD’s PISA Global Competence Framework, the curriculum integrates essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for global citizenship, fostering critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and intercultural proficiency through student-centered methodologies like group projects and community learning. It also underscores the importance of synthesizing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and IoC to create a holistic learning experience. By reviewing the intersections between ESD and IoC, the initiative highlights how these educational frameworks can collaboratively enhance curriculum design, delivery, and assessment. For effective implementation, sustainability and global learning must be central imperatives, facilitating transformative learning and social change aligned with the UNSDGs. This approach positions the Intercultural Business pathway as a promising step toward a cohesive and impactful educational framework that encourages students’ co-ownership of their learning experiences.

Reference: Gregersen-Hermans, J. (2021). Toward a curriculum for the future: Synthesizing education for sustainable development and internationalization of the curriculum. Journal of Studies in International Education, 25(4), 461-481. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153211031033

The TA VIE Project aims to develop internationalization strategies and tools to enhance and assess global competencies for engineering students and alumni. It emphasizes aligning engineering education with global and sustainability goals through the internationalization of the curriculum (IoC). The project focuses on fostering skills such as global awareness, intercultural communication, and sustainability. Research across five European countries identified essential competencies for engineering graduates, including flexibility, problem-solving, communication, teamwork, adaptability, and empathy. To meet industry needs, curricula should integrate these competencies through interdisciplinary and experiential learning strategies. International mobility programs, like Erasmus, are crucial for developing adaptability and open-mindedness in engineers. Despite challenges, such as the gap between educational outcomes and industry demands, future steps include creating assessment tools and further internationalizing the curriculum. The project highlights that global competence nurtured by IoC is vital for sustainable development and enhancing employability through cooperation across national and organizational boundaries.

Reference: Ortiz-Marcos, I., Breuker, V., Rodríguez-Rivero, R., Kjellgren, B., Dorel, F., Toffolon, M., Uribe, D., & Eccli, V. (2020). A framework of global competence for engineers: The need for a sustainable world. Sustainability, 12(22), 9568. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229568

The Global Classroom Project serves as an exemplary model for internationalization of the curriculum (IoC) in sustainability education (SE). The project produced a model curriculum and teaching-learning environment for transnational collaboration in higher education for sustainability. This initiative implemented a glocal curriculum that combined digital technologies with experiential learning to address urban sustainability challenges in diverse contexts. By fostering interdisciplinary knowledge, critical thinking, and intercultural competencies, the project prepared students to act as agents of transformation across global and local scales. Through continuous evaluation and adaptation, the Global Classroom Project demonstrated effective strategies for integrating curriculum reform with internationalization and digitalization in higher education.

Reference: Caniglia, G., John, B., Bellina, L., Lang, D. J., Wiek, A., Cohmer, S., & Laubichler, M. D. (2018). The glocal curriculum: A model for transnational collaboration in higher education for sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 171, 368-376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.207

The project showcases an innovative approach to internationalizing the curriculum (IoC) by engaging students from different countries in a cross-disciplinary activity focused on climate change. This approach highlights the importance of exposing students to international environmental issues, fostering their development as responsible global citizens. By conducting surveys on climate change perceptions and facilitating discussions regarding the survey results via live video links on Skype, students from Australia and the USA were able to reflect on the ecological impacts of their lifestyles. This method encouraged critical thinking and cross-disciplinary collaboration, allowing students to explore complex issues like climate change science and cultural perceptions. The simplicity of the survey and the success of the tutorial, despite time zone challenges, demonstrate effective implementation of IoC. This strategy of internationalizing the tutorials not only broadens students’ perspectives in sustainability education but also enhances their ability to tackle global problems and develop skills that cross traditional boundaries.

Reference: McGregor, H. V., O’Shea, B., Brewer, C., Abuodha, P., & Pharo, E. J. (2014). Internationalization of the curriculum through student-led climate change teaching activity. Journal of Geoscience Education, 62(3), 353-363. https://doi.org/10.5408/13-033.1

The International Campus of Zhejiang University (iZJU) has demonstrated the integration of Internationalization of the Curriculum (IoC) into sustainability education through several strategic initiatives, from the dimensions of organization, curriculum, people and campus. It has developed an internationalized curriculum in partnership with foreign institutions, providing global, international, and intercultural learning opportunities for all students. Additionally, the intercultural co-curriculum redefines classrooms and campuses as spaces for meaningful intercultural engagement, aligning with sustainable development goals. The Global ZJU for Social Good (Z4G) Action Plan co-curriculum further enhances this by incorporating SDG-related courses and initiatives, ensuring students acquire essential knowledge and skills for sustainable development. The campus itself serves as a living laboratory for sustainability, where students, faculty, and staff actively participate in sustainable practices, contributing to various SDGs (i.e. Goal 4,6,7,11, 13, 14, 15, 16,17). By fostering cultural diversity and inclusion, the university encourages interactions among Chinese and international students, developing their intercultural skills and promoting global citizenship.

Reference: Qu, L., & Dai, Y. (2024). Internationalization at home from a Chinese perspective: The case of iZJU. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 25(5), 988-1008. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijshe-08-2023-0386

The summer institute focused on Environmental Education (EE) to promote global citizenship and involved collaboration between Chinese and international faculty and students from various disciplines such as education and social work. The project drew connections between (a) the internationalization of environmental justice education for global citizenship, and (b) its local explication of which that links university-based eco-social work education with community-based practice in China. Six courses were taught over two summers. Topics included sustainable development, EE pedagogy, multicultural education, social work, and participatory development in global North and South. The teaching methods included lectures, role play, case studies, and future scenario analysis. In 2019, the programme had transitioned to hybrid models combining field-based teaching involved experiential learning, community surveys, and action research. Achievements of the summer institute include: 1) Encouraged critical thinking and practice-based learning through community engagement. The center supported interdisciplinary and cross-cultural collaboration; 2) Focused on traditional Chinese and indigenous dimensions of sustainability. Engaged diverse educators, students, and community leaders in participatory approaches; and 3) Created a “learning laboratory” for exploring EE content with critical pedagogies.

Reference: McBeath, B., Tian, Q., Wang, C., & Xu, B. (2021). Internationalization of environmental education for global citizenship. Journal of Community Practice, 29(1), 79-90. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2021.1879983