Newswise — Today Dalhousie University launched a new program that will pioneer a new way of teaching a new generation of leaders.
A new academic program, Environment, Sustainability and Society, offered through the equally new College of Sustainability is first of its kind in Canada and is the most significant and far-reaching change to the way Dalhousie educates its students in recent memory.
Students who enroll in the new undergraduate program, which opens in September, will come from a wide variety of backgrounds but share a common passion for the planet. Professors in the program are drawn from six faculties and dozens of academic disciplines.
Students can take Environment, Sustainability and Society (ESS), a four-year undergraduate program, as half of a double major or combined honors—combining their ESS studies with a more traditional discipline. Depending on their specialty, students will work towards a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Management, Bachelor of Community Design, Bachelor of Computer Science or Bachelor of Informatics. The program brings students from different disciplines together to work on solving common problems and to infuse them with a new eco-conscious way of thinking.
"Universities are supposed to be responsive. We should be compelled to work on these issues and education is the way to go," says Tarah Wright, interim associate director (undergraduate) with the College of Sustainability, "I commend Dalhousie for stepping up to the plate and saying, 'We're going to be leaders at this.'"
Classes in ESS will emphasize teamwork and problem-based learning. After four years, students can expect to graduate as critical thinkers, communicators, researchers and effective team members. They'll be leaders who will approach all they do with an understanding of sustainability.
The creation of the College of Sustainability coincides with a whole new energy on campus. The university has recently opened an Office of Sustainability with full-time director Rochelle Owen and Dalhousie Student Union has established SustainDal. The university's master campus plan, now in development, is being designed with sustainability as a primary concern.
On the web: www.ess.dal.ca
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