School: School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience
Program: Undergraduate programmes in Physiology, Pharmacology, Neuroscience, and Biomedical Sciences
Units: Skills Unit (Attended by about 165 to 170 students)
How is sustainability included in these units? How did you decide what was appropriate?
Sustainability has been embedded within the Skills unit through an interactive workshop designed as a standalone learning experience that also feeds into students’ wider academic development. The workshop was introduced at the start of second year, a point at which students are beginning to develop stronger disciplinary and critical thinking skills.
The decision to embed sustainability within a skills-based unit was intentional. Rather than adding more content, the school identified sustainability as a powerful lens through which students could practise questioning, reflection, and evaluation skills. The workshop introduces students to sustainable development using the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a framework, encouraging them to move beyond an assumption that biomedical sciences only relate to Goal 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) and to explore how their disciplines intersect with a much wider range of global challenges.
Students are guided to think critically about why sustainability matters, not only in terms of global responsibility, but also in relation to future research careers, funding requirements, and responsible innovation. By situating sustainability within real-world scientific practice, the workshop helps students understand its relevance to both their studies and their future employability.
If it uses any unusual/original pedagogy or assessment approaches to do this, what are these?
The sustainability workshop is deliberately discussion-led and interactive, rather than content-heavy. Delivered as a 90-minute session, it encourages students to explore case studies, engage with online sustainability resources, and question how scientific research priorities are shaped by social, economic, and environmental factors.
Rather than being heavily assessed, sustainability is intentionally positioned as a way of thinking that students should carry forward into other units and assessments. This approach reflects the broader aims of the skills unit, which focuses on developing transferable capabilities such as critical analysis, ethical reasoning, and reflective practice. Optional sustainability-focused assessment topics have also been introduced in later units, allowing students who are particularly engaged to explore these issues in greater depth.
The school also is working with the School of Biological Sciences to develop a Climate Fresk inspired workshop focusing on climate impacts on human health and wellbeing.
What are the challenges you have faced in embedding sustainability practices within the curriculum?
The most significant challenge has been student engagement, particularly where sustainability is not explicitly linked to final assessments. Students are often under intense time pressure and may prioritise activities that directly affect their grades. As a result, some students struggle to see the immediate relevance of sustainability content within a demanding curriculum.
There is also a balance to strike between meaningful integration and assessment overload. The school deliberately chose not to introduce an additional assessment focused solely on sustainability, recognising the existing pressures on students. This has led to mixed feedback: while some students find the workshop eye-opening and valuable, others question its place within their programme at the time it is delivered.
From a staff perspective, there’s a challenge of staff members feeling less confident in highlighting sustainability issues within their teaching. Not all academics feel fully equipped to address sustainability concepts, even where they are highly relevant, and ongoing support is needed to embed these discussions naturally and authentically.
What sustainability-relevant ‘takeaways’ would you expect students to gain?
Students are expected to leave the skills unit workshops with a clearer understanding of what sustainable development means and how it relates to their discipline. This includes an appreciation that sustainability is integral to how research is designed, funded, conducted, and applied.
Key takeaways include the ability to think critically about the broader impacts of scientific research, awareness of sustainability expectations within future employment and research funding, and the confidence to question existing practices. While not all students immediately recognise the value of this learning, evidence from student feedback and in-session polling showed increased awareness and understanding of how sustainability connects to their field.
How can other schools learn from your school practices in embedding sustainability?
This experience demonstrates that sustainability can be meaningfully embedded through skills-focused units without adding excessive curriculum content. The workshop framework can be used in other disciplines, with the flexibility to foreground different Sustainable Development Goals depending on subject area.
Embedding sustainability knowledge requires clear communication about why sustainability matters, realistic expectations around student engagement, and acceptance that not all impact will be immediate. Introducing sustainability through optional assessments and using discipline-specific examples allows students to gradually integrate these ideas into their academic and professional choices. Even when feedback is mixed, the long-term value of embedding sustainability as part of scientific thinking remains clear.
Key Contact Person for Sustainability: Dawn Davies
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