Dr Rehan Shah and a team of QMUL colleagues from various schools across the university have been successfully awarded the President and Principal's Fund for Educational Excellence for their project titled 'SustainAbility in the curriculum: Developing Queen Mary’s virtual greenspace for sustainability awareness '. The university-wide project is being led by Dr Ishani Chandrasekara and Dr Sayed Elhoushy from the School of Business and Management and co-led by an interdisciplinary team comprising Mr Nurul Ahmed (Careers and Enterprise), Dr Sally Faulkner (SBBS), Prof Patrick Healey (EECS), Ms. Anna Moore (FMD), Mr Jonathan Otter, Mr Jovani Palnoni and Ms. Zoe Sturgess (QMSU), Dr Chris Sutton (SMS), Dr Steph Fuller (QMA) and Dr Rehan Shah (SEMS), all of whom are members of QMUL's existing Sustainability in the Curriculum Network.

This project addresses sustainability, the most urgent global issue facing the world today, which is also a key strategic priority for Queen Mary’s 2030 Strategy. Its primary aim is to enhance the Queen Mary curriculum through establishing a platform for discussions and collaborative learning on sustainability. This space will enable Queen Mary staff, students, and the East London community to participate in and benefit from a non-credit sustainability course. The focus is on developing an innovative pedagogical approach to share existing knowledge and skills within the university in order to develop sustainability awareness, knowledge, and skills. The course, open to all staff and students, will be co-created with students and aligned with the development of Queen Mary Graduate Attributes and employability skills. Elements of the course would also be open to the local community.

The design draws on research into good practice across the sector and a range of different models of sustainability education provision. Course content will centre around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and development of the UNESCO competencies for sustainability. The awarded funding will be used for the initial set-up of the course, and delivery of a pilot run in selected schools/institutes, including SBBS, SBM and SEMS.

The longer-term aims are to roll the course out across the university, to link to the new institutional Sustainability Action Plan, and to become a credit-bearing element of the curriculum, providing an innovative educational and developmental experience for all QMUL students.