2023 recap: The leap in sustainability education

2023 represented a big leap in our mission. Earlier this year, we launched TASK™, hosted workshops with our Change Leader community and attended other relevant events. You can read a recap of the first half of our year at Sulitest here.

The journey since than has been nothing short than eventful (and exciting!). Here’s a recap of what happened in the Sulitest movement and what we learned along the way.

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July

Our event at the UN High-Level Political Forum in New York, titled "How Can Data and Indicators Support the Transformation of Pedagogy for the Global Goals?", was a significant gathering, bringing together academic luminaries and ranking bodies. Speakers like Mr. Göransson from UN DESA highlighted the vital role of data in sustainable development. The panel included our Change Leaders Sébastien Bourdin, Jean-Michel Champagne, Florent Deisting, as well as representatives of ranking bodies – Duncan Ross, Andrew Jack, Laurianne Dietrichs.

You can read the highlights of this conversation with representatives of accreditation bodies here, and with our Change Leaders here.

This was also the occasion where we published the first TASK™ report. It showed us that:

• With a median score of 51 (with a balanced distribution), only 11% of candidates showed a higher knowledge of sustainability with a score of 70 or more (in other words, we’ve got work to do!)
• While the scores of the 3 broader themes of the TASK™ matrix (Earth Systems, Human Welfare, and Levers of Opportunity) are balanced , there are wide disparities between the subjects within these themes.
• Younger candidates seem to have a better knowledge of sustainability.

Curious to learn more? Read the report here.

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August

Alexander Brewer, our Data Scientist, along with Talia Stough and Wim Lambrechts from Open University, presented the paper “The Development and Validation of The Assessment of Sustainability Knowledge (TASK™)” at the Academy of Management in Boston!

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September

While many school part of the Change Leader program were offering TASK™ to their incoming cohorts, our team was engaging with the broader higher education community.

We participated in the AACSB Societal Impact Conference in Copenhagen, with Aurélien (Co-founder) and Constantin (Account Manager) representing our team. Jean-Christophe Carteron (Co-founder) joined a panel as part of the International Green Skills Conference in London, discussed skills for transitioning to net zero. At the EAIE Conference in Rotterdam, Scott (Editor) led a discussion on intercultural competence and eco-literacy.

Sam Barratt from UNEP mentioned in the London event:

“We have to acknowledge the progress made in last decade, but we have to recognize that we are just at the beginning of the journey, and we have to accelerate the movement!”

This is the lasting feeling of all three events, and we were left energized to continue our work to advance sustainability education.

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October

We launched the Intro2TASK™! It is designed to be sent to future TASK™ takers to help them understand the TASK™ approach to sustainability and get them excited about learning, or as a bank of resources professors can pick from to embed in their own teaching.

Interested in using the TASK™ framework and assessment to improve your university’s sustainability education? Get in touch!

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November

At the beginning of this month, we signed a partnership with the Association of African Business Schools. Look out for webinars in 2024!

In the same vein, we hosted a webinar with SABSA, the South African Business Schools Association, which highlighted the role of Higher Education Institutions in advancing the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, the CLADEA 2023 International Congress took place in Argentina. Represented by Evelyne Gross, we participated in a panel discussion on the future of responsible management education.

Sulitest was awarded the French ESUS accreditation, recognizing our commitment to social impact and sustainability. We were also featured in the 2023 mapping of French impact startups by Bpifrance Le Hub, France Digitale, and Mouvement Impact France. This inclusion highlights our role as a leading startup placing impact at the core of our activities!

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December

The end of the year saw further expansion of our Change Leader community, with new members like the University of Sussex Business School in the UK and Senghor University in Egypt, and several more French institutions.

We also participated in noteworthy events like the QS Reimagine Awards, the UNESCO ESD for 2030 Global Network meeting, the COP28 in Dubai, and the “Journée Nationale de la Transition écologique” in France.

We also signed a partnership with QS Quacquarelli Symonds to accelerate sustainability education together!

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Thoughts ahead of the new year

We are looking forward to deepening our connection with and growing the TASK™ Change Leader community! In the words of Leigh Kamolins, Director of Analytics & Evaluation at QS Quacquarelli Symonds,

“As we face the climate catastrophe, the role of higher education in solving one the greatest challenges ever facing humanity has never been greater. Sulitest provides an important lens on how well we are educating students to respond to this emergency - equipping institutions with vital insight to ensure they can adapt their pedagogical approaches and raise literacy around sustainability. This will drive the transformation of sustainability education for years to come.”

We can’t wait to see this transformation and if you want to be part of this journey, please get in touch.

We wish you a successful and sustainable 2024!!