Re: Suggested topics for this blog

Having been through an engineering degree program recently I have some
thoughts on the topics in the previous post.

1. The university's role in engaging students is to treat sustainability
as part of the core curriculum. This is especially true for the sciences
and applied sciences.

3. Instructional resources already exist. The best way to teach
sustainable planning is to focus on points 1,8, and 9. Dedicating whole
courses to the subject and hiring for expertise in sustainability seem
like the obvious first steps to take.

9. Cross-discipline collaboration at the student level has been elusive
for many university programs because it quickly butts up with the
hierarchal structure of most schools. Even a leading school like MIT has
found this type of integration difficult to achieve. At the same time, I
think it is perhaps the single most valuable tool for accomplishing #1.
Having guest lecturers teach students outside their discipline is a step
in the right direction.

Points 2,4,5,6,7,8,10 can all be addressed by setting up a
sustainability office on campus. A few employees can do a whole lot in
this regard, aided by student and faculty engagement.

I found your website while doing research for the review I am putting
together. It is a collection of talks related to sustainability.
http://mpages.org/wv/
Regards,
Mike Simons