Dr Fernández López is currently Assistant Professor in Education for Sustainable Futures in the School of STEM Education, Innovation and Global Studies. Manuel’s chief interests lie in the intersection between education and society and in the emergence of sustainable futures in education for well-being; and aimed at interdisciplinary over the last fifteen years, through working in academic disciplines such as Engineering, Philosophy, and Psychology. He is coordinator of two module in the doctoral program in Education (Futures thinking and Futures Studies, and Education, Sustainability, Citizenship and Climate change.
Prior to joining DCU, Manuel has resided and worked outside Spain for more than eleven years, and developed and worked in projects across Europe, Latin America and Africa: concretely in Cuba, Ireland and UK, Norway, Spain, Seychelles, and Mexico. In Norway he was awarded funding for the study of long-term thinking for the green economy (EEA) at the Centre for Ecological Economics and Ethics, where he contributed to gather further research funding and also lectured in areas of forward-thinking areas of inquiry and sustainable development management.
Manuel has lectured at postgraduate level for five years to future technology teachers at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Society and Education, and Innovation), and supervised numerous postgraduate research projects in education, developing emergent and pioneering practices in the area of future studies and education. He has also been a lecturer in Responsible Communication in the area of Social Responsibility at the Open University of Catalonia.
His commitment to the integration of innovative futures thinking methods in education through participatory approaches aims at the transformation of communities. This is reflected in various key projects he has developed and the related publications. He also worked as a secondary school teacher, and within this context served as well in VET and was also contracted in the education of disadvantaged students and youth at risk. Manuel has collaborated with United Nations (UNFCCC) on futures thinking for resilience in the context of climate change. He is currently the co-director of the RCE Dublin - UN University Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) in Education for Sustainable Development.
Requests for supervision or collaboration/consultancy should be directed to manuel.fernandezlopez@dcu.ie.
Book Chapter
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | (2021) '(In Spanish) Study of the professional teaching identity of future teachers in Vocational Training and Technology in the context of the Master in Secondary Teacher Training' In: Nodos del Conocimiento. | |
| 2021 | Manuel Fernández López (2021) 'From the desired social vision (2030) and the catastrophe to educational innovation in professional training for sustainable development. A training proposal in prospective thinking with the teachers of the future. (In Spanish)' In: Nodos del Conocimiento. [Link] | |
| 2019 | (2019) 'Sustainable Development In The Context of Professional And Vocational Training: Gender Equality Challenges' In: Congreso internacional de innovación educativa. |
Conference Publication
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Daniela Toro; Manuel Fernández López (2023) 'The prospective view: trends and challenges for the future of social responsibility'. OIKONOMICS, . | |
| 2022 | Manuel Fernandez Lopez (2022) 'Exploring forward-thinking technology perspectives of sustainable development for the year 2030 in the identity of engineering students'. Global Journal of Engineering Education, 24 (1). [Link] | |
| 2021 | (2021) 'Towards a long-term sustainable development vision in the self: a study with engineering students'. World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education, . [Link] | |
| 2017 | Manuel Fernadez Lopez; Octavi Piulats (2017) 'Developing Ecological Awareness and Responsible Business'. Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development, . | |
| 2017 | Manuel Fernández López; Octavi Piulats (2017) 'Developing Ecological Awareness and Responsible Business'. Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development, . |
Other Publication
Research Interests
Futures thinking, Futures studies and Sustainable Development, the study of the self, pedagogy for self-awareness, organisational social responsibility, Sustainability in secondary education, responsible and integrative communication, Technical/Engineering Education for SD, complexity theory, identity, Impact of technology and wellbeing.
Manuel has pioneered the study of the self using a complexity based methodology to address long-term sustainability, first time developed in the psychosocial framework and first time applied to Education. He has integrated individual identity, time studies, and global challenges under formal and non-formal education.