Navigating the Shifting Landscape: Developing Skills and Education for a Sustainble Europe Future

Dr Cliona Murphy, was invited to present at the the Globe EU event, “Navigating the shifting landscape: Developing skills and Education for a Sustainable European Future” that was hosted by GLOBE EU members MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen and Paul Tang, in the EU parliament, in Brussels. This event brought together experts from the private and public sectors to explore the changing skills and education needs of the European Union in a post-pandemic, climate-oriented world. A number of presentations were given from private and public sector experts that focussed on the integration of sustainability and digital skills into the European education system, the challenges faced and potential solutions to support the European Green Deal and sustainable development. The event also provided a forum to discuss and consider the role of the EU and national governments in addressing these challenges.

Key points included:

1. The need for a comprehensive approach to education that includes sustainability and digital skills across all levels, from early education to lifelong learning.
2. The importance of teacher education and professional development to equip educators with the knowledge and confidence to teach sustainability and climate change topics.
3. The role of universities in embedding sustainability into their curricula and fostering interdisciplinary approaches that include social sciences and humanities.
4. The challenges of aligning educational content with national curricula and ensuring that sustainability topics are assessed to incentivize teaching.
5. The potential of digital technologies, such as AI, to transform education but also the need to consider ethical implications and the environmental impact of digitalization.
6. The significance of partnerships between educational institutions and the private sector to bridge the gap between education and industry needs.
7. The European Commission’s Erasmus+ programme’s focus is on supporting green initiatives, including increasing mobility opportunities in forward-looking green domains and fostering collaboration among various stakeholders.

Overall, the meeting highlighted a collective ambition to advance sustainability and digital education but recognized the need for coordinated action, practical tools, and systemic change to achieve these goals.