Resea ch Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Ka inen, M., & Malkamäki, M. (2025). Embedding
Sus ainabili y in o Enginee ing Educa ion: Wha Suppo Do he Teache s Need?.
In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI 53 d
Annual Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI),
Tampe e, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631495.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
EMBEDDING SUSTAINABILITY INTO ENGINEERING EDUCATION: WHAT
SUPPORT DO THE TEACHERS NEED?
M. Ka inena,1, M. Malkamäki b
a Aal o Uni e si y School o Enginee ing, Espoo, Finland, 0000-0002-4166-8379
b Aal o Uni e si y School o Science, Espoo, Finland
Con e ence Key A eas: Building he capaci y and s eng hening he educa ional
compe ences o enginee ing educa o s; Imp o ing highe enginee ing educa ion
h ough esea ching enginee ing educa ion
Keywo ds: Sus ainabili y in eg a ion, enginee ing educa ion, eache needs, suppo
ABSTRACT
Du ing he pas wo decades, enginee ing educa o s ha e inc easingly been
in eg a ing sus ainabili y in hei eaching. Howe e , a cen al obs acle in
mains eaming he in eg a ion in all educa ion is he lack o compe encies o he
eache s. E en hough some measu es ha e been es ablished o o e come his
ba ie , su p isingly li le is known o wha c ea es he eeling o being suppo ed o
he eache s.
We in e iewed ou een eache s om he No dic and Bal ic echnical uni e si ies o
explo e wha ac o s hey associa e wi h a eeling o being suppo ed, and wha hey
ind o hinde hei ac ions. The mos in e es ing inding was ha almos all he o he
suppo ing ac o s ha eme ged, esou ces, unding, and commi men om op
managemen , we e unde pin by he ini ia i es being o icially ecognized. The cen al
ac o s unde lying he challenges he eache s aced we e ela ed o he lack o
ins i u ional p ocesses.
Ou indings can in o m echnical uni e si ies o imp o e he suppo hey de elop o
eache s o in eg a e sus ainabili y in he educa ion. The indings can also encou age
enginee ing educa o s o suppo each o he in he join sus ainabili y endea o s.
1 Co esponding Au ho
M. Ka inen
mee i.ka inen@aal o. i
1 INTRODUCTION
Du ing he pas wo decades, enginee ing educa ion has inc easingly been
add essing he p essing issue o sus ainabili y in eaching. Howe e , many s udies
ha e indica ed ha a cen al obs acle o each deepe le els o sus ainabili y in
highe educa ion is he lack o compe encies o he eache s (Rieckmann, 2019;
Va e e al., 2019). E en hough some measu es ha e been es ablished o o e come
his ba ie , such as educa ing he educa o s on sus ainabili y (Schönach e al.,
2021; Leal Filho e al., 2021), su p isingly li le is known o wha ac ually c ea es he
eeling o being suppo ed o he eache s.
One o he co e ques ions o eache s is how hey unde s and sus ainabili y. To be
able o b idge one’s subjec opic wi h sus ainabili y, one needs o ha e a g asp on
how ou cu en (and pas ) socie ies u ilize na u al esou ces and d i e clima e
change and ecosys em deg ada ion owa ds ipping poin s (Richa dson e al., 2023).
In addi ion, o de elop educa ion ha would p omo e a jus sus ainabili y
ans o ma ion (Rocks öm e al., 2023), eache s should comp ehend how hei ield
con ibu es o i , and os e such knowledge, skills and mindse s ha help s uden s
making conscious choices o sus ainabili y in hei u u e p o essions (UNESCO,
2017). This implies ha sus ainabili y educa ion equi es huge e o s om he
educa o s, and he suppo p o ided o hem dese es a en ion om uni e si ies.
The No dic and Bal ic echnical highe educa ion ins i u ions (HEIs) a e well
connec ed in e ms o educa ional collabo a ion. Some ac i e, high-le el ne wo ks
include he No d ek and he No dic Fi e Tech, which oge he co e 31 HEIs ha
p o ide enginee ing educa ion in Denma k, Finland, Iceland, No way, Sweden,
Es onia, La ia, and Li huania. These ne wo ks also include sus ainabili y- ela ed
join e o s; o example, he No d ek ne wo k has a dedica ed wo king g oup o
sus ainabili y educa ion ela ed de elopmen .
P e ious esea ch done in his a ea on sus ainabili y in eg a ion indica es ha
despi e he egion is enowned o ambi ious sus ainabili y endea o s, eache s in
he HEIs ace challenges wi h embedding sus ainabili y in hei eaching (Ka inen e
al., 2017). The key obs acles include he lack o esou ces and commi men om op
managemen , esis ance o change, and lack o collabo a ion (Ka inen e al., 2017)
– all o hese ha e also been iden i ied in a wide global e iew (Weiss e al., 2021).
In addi ion o hese lis ed ba ie s, sus ainabili y in enginee ing educa ion has been
challenged by a echnoc a ic and ins umen alis iew on he pu pose o enginee ing
educa ion (Mulde , 2017). Fac o s ha seem o p omo e sus ainabili y ini ia i es in
gene al a e connec ed o he ba ie s, including esou ces, collabo a i e e o s, and
suppo om he managemen (Ka inen e al., 2017; Weiss e al., 2021).
While he s udies abo e p o ide gene al le el in o ma ion on he key d i e s and
ba ie s o sus ainabili y in eg a ion in highe (enginee ing) educa ion, hey ail o
explain how o empowe he eache s and ge sus ainabili y in eg a ion mo e
mains eamed in enginee ing educa ion. The e o e, we we e in e es ed in looking
deepe in o he ac o s ha migh lie behind hese co e d i e s and obs acles. To
shed mo e ligh in o his opic, we decided o ocus on he eache s who ha e been
in ol ed in sus ainabili y ini ia i es in hei ins i u ions and he e o e could ha e
ui ul in o ma ion o ac o s ha ha e mo i a ed o unmo i a ed hem o ac .
We in e iewed eache s om he No d ek and No dic Fi e Tech ne wo ks’ membe
uni e si ies. Mo e speci ically, we wan ed o ind ou wha ac o s hey associa e wi h
a eeling o being suppo ed, and wha hey ound supp essing hei ac ions. We
addi ionally looked in o he ins i u ional suppo s uc u es ha exis in hese
ins i u ions, howe e , his pape ocuses only on he suppo ing and hinde ing
ac o s, while he ins i u ion-le el esul s a e epo ed elsewhe e (Ka inen &
Malkamäki, 2025). The in e iew da a ha was ga he ed was p ima ily collec ed o
he Mas e ’s hesis o he second au ho (Malkamäki, 2025).
The aim o his pape is o p o ide in o ma ion o all echnical uni e si ies on how
hey could de elop suppo o he eaching s a o embed sus ainabili y. Mo eo e ,
we hope ha by sha ing mo i a ed educa o s’ expe iences, his pape could
empowe enginee ing educa o s o collabo a e a ound sus ainabili y in eg a ion.
2 METHODOLOGY
2.1 Da a collec ion
We conduc ed ou een semi-s uc u ed in e iews o explo e wha makes acul y
s a membe s eel hei sus ainabili y- ela ed e o s o ini ia i es a e suppo ed, and
wha addi ional suppo hey migh s ill need when ying o embed sus ainabili y in
hei cou ses o p og ammes. The in e iewees we e ound u ilizing he No d ek
ne wo k con ac s, and pa ly by asking he i s con ac s o ecommend a colleague
sui able o ou s udy. We a ge ed a ha ing a leas one pa icipan om each
coun y (Table 1) and o ha e di e si y in e ms o esponsibili ies o he
in e iewees: we wished o gain insigh s om cou se de elopmen and p og amme
de elopmen , and complemen a y iews om he adminis a ional de elopmen
asks ha ela e o sus ainabili y educa ion.
The in e iews we e conduc ed online by one o he au ho s h ough MS Teams in
Augus -Sep embe 2024. The a e age leng h o an in e iew was 50 minu es. The
in e iews we e eco ded wi h he consen o he pa icipan s and au o ansc ibed
using MS Teams ools. The pa icipan s we e gi en he oppo uni y o iew and
co ec he ansc ip ions, and pe missions asked o use di ec quo a ions in
epo ing he esul s. We e ain om epo ing he i les o e en gende s o he
speci ic pa icipan s o secu e hei anonymi y, as his was hei eques .
Table 1. Pa icipan da a.
Coun y Uni e si y N o
In e iewees
Denma k Technical Uni e si y o Denma k (DTU) 2
Es onia Tallinn uni e si y o Technology (TalTech) 1
Finland Aal o Uni e si y 1
Iceland
Uni e si y o Iceland
1
La ia
Riga Technical Uni e si y (RTU)
1
Li huania Vilnius Gediminas echnical uni e si y (Vilnius Tech) 2
No way No wegian Uni e si y o Science and Techn. (NTNU) 1
Sweden KTH Royal Ins i u e o Technology 2
Sweden Umeå Uni e si y 1
Sweden Uppsala Uni e si y 2
All he in e iewees had mul iple yea s o wo k expe ience in academia and hei
i les included o example, associa e p o esso , p og amme di ec o , and uni e si y
lec u e . Mos o hem had eaching esponsibili ies, bu a ew had mo ed o
uni e si y-le el adminis a ional posi ions whe e hey managed o ganiza ional
de elopmen p ojec s on sus ainabili y educa ion. All he in e iewees we e asked o
desc ibe a ce ain sus ainabili y- ela ed p ojec hey had been engaged in ecen ly,
and o e lec on he ac o s ha a ec ed he success o he p ojec , and hei
eelings abou how hei e o s had been alued in hei communi y. Mos o he
p ojec s ela ed o majo e o ms o exis ing cou ses, whe e sus ainabili y had been
in eg a ed o example h ough s uc u al changes. new assignmen s, o con en , bu
some p ojec s we e abou c ea ing new compulso y o olun a y sus ainabili y
cou ses o e iewing he sus ainabili y s a us o deg ee p og ammes.
The Na ional Commi ee o Resea ch e hics was ollowed h oguhou he esea ch
p ocess. All pa icipan s signed a consen documen be o e he in e iews. The e
we e no an icipa ed isks o pa icipa ing in he esea ch and no sensi i e da a was
collec ed.
2.2 Da a analysis
The in e iew da a was analysed wi h an abduc i e heme analysis ha mainly
ollowed he analysis s eps desc ibed by Thompson (2022) (Table 2). Abduc i e
analysis was chosen, as i allows o using bo h deduc i e and induc i e app oaches
(Ta o y and Timme mans, 2014). This analysis me hod was ound pa icula ly use ul
o poin ou wha complemen a y indings ou in e iews b ough o he cu en
scien i ic unde s anding o he esea ch opic. The eby, he da a was i s coded
deduc i ely acco ding o known di e s and ba ie s om p e ious esea ch. This se
o codes was hen complemen ed wi h codes ha eme ged om an induc i e
analysis. The codes we e hen ca ego ised o o m sub hemes and hemes. As a
esul , a map o hemes and sub hemes was c ea ed (Fig. 1).
Table 2. Abduc i e heme analysis s eps applied (adap ed om Thompson, 2022).
Analysis phase
Desc ip ion
1. T ansc ip ion
and
Familia iza ion
Ge ing amilia wi h he da a: lis ening o he in e iews,
co ec ing au oma ed ansc ip ions, making e lec i e no es on
po en ial in e es a eas ele an o esea ch in e es s.
2. Coding 2-3 coding ounds o each sa u a ion (Thompson, 2022):
Ma king sho exce p s om he da a based on simila i ies o
pa e ns ac oss di e en exce p s.
3. De elopmen
o Themes
Ca ego izing he codes in o sub hemes and hemes ha
connec mul iple codes o each o he .
4. Da a Display C ea ing a heme map ha isualizes he codes, sub hemes
and hemes.
5. Theo izing Elabo a ing on he ela ionships be ween he hemes and he
en i e da ase . Connec ing he esul s wi h p e ious esea ch
and aiming o explain he esul s.
6. W i ing Up Desc ibing he analysis p ocess, i s esul s, connec ions o
p e ious esea ch, and conclusions.
3 RESULTS
Fou key hemes eme ged om he da a ha c ea ed he eeling o being suppo ed
among he pa icipan s: suppo om managemen , pee suppo , ge ing ecogni ion
o one’s wo k, and ge ing esou ces (Fig. 1). The suppo needs iden i ied om he
in e iew da a comp ised h ee hemes: sus ainabili y con en s, o ganiza ional
challenges, and p ac ical challenges (Fig. 1). We nex desc ibe he de ailed esul s o
he exis ing suppo ac o s, and hen hose o he challenges and suppo needs.
Fig. 1. Theme map showing he sub hemes (on he le ) and hemes ha eme ged
om he abduc i e analysis. *Sus ainabili y in eg a ion; **Enginee ing educa ion.
3.1 Fac o s associa ed wi h eeling suppo ed
The main hemes unde his s udy i em included ew iden i iable sub hemes, o
which we p o ide some examples he e (quo a ions, see Tables 3-4). One o he
mos o en men ioned suppo ac o s was an indica ion om he managemen ha
hey suppo he ini ia i e, such as accep ance o he p ojec . Accep ance was
desc ibed o be a c ucial minimum ha eache s would need as an indica ion ha
hey a e allowed o p oceed wi h hei ini ia i es1. In some cases, op managemen
e en acili a ed collabo a ion be ween pa ies o help he ini ia i e go o wa d2.
Resou ces and ecogni ion wen o en hand in hand o he pa icipan s. Tangible
esou ces, such as being success ul in in e nal unding calls, c ea ed bo h an
enabling ac o o alloca ing wo king ime o he p ojec in p ac ice, bu also a
eeling o own wo k being app ecia ed and suppo ed by he whole o ganiza ion3-4.
Educa ional de elopmen being ecognized in ca ee s age e alua ion p ocess
c ea ed he same eeling o own e o s being alued.5 Some o he in e iewed
p o esso s also b ough up ha ge ing own cou se in o a deg ee p og amme’s
cu iculum el ewa ding. Howe e , some p o esso s gained simila ewa ding
eeling om eaching semina cou ses wi h a small bu mo i a ed g oup o s uden s.7
Pee suppo was among he mos men ioned ac o s ha he pa icipan s wan ed o
discuss. They pa icula ly b ough up how impo an i is o change ideas8 and
benchma k p ac ices9 abou di e en means o in eg a e sus ainabili y. Posi i e
eedback o own ideas and ini ia i es was as well iden i ied as highly ewa ding.
Table 3: Quo a ions ela ing o suppo ing ac o s.
No
Quo a ion
1 “[...] as a esul o his e iew o he p og amme, my colleague and I had o w i e up an ac ion plan o
how we would deal wi h his e iew. [...] So ha was app o ed by he acul y. So you could say ha 's
kind o a quie suppo , you know i was app o ed o . No one helped us bu hey said i 's OK, go ahead.“
2 “ [...] The way we we e bes aided as a eam pu ing he cou se oge he was by he dean [ ice p esiden
o educa ion] saying ha ‘you don' ha e o wo y abou esou ces. I'm he one making he esou ces
wo k. I'm he one ha 's going o go and alk o each ins i u e [ acul y] on how we esou ce all o his. You
only hink abou he academic side o pu ing his cou se oge he , so y o pu he cou se ha you hink
is bes o he s uden s and hen ell me wha you’d wan o do.”
3 “Yes, hey we e e y posi i e abou my p oposal and hey suppo ha he amoun I asked o ... I'm e y
happy wi h hei suppo . They' e helped me a lo . So hey' e e y suppo i e. Yeah, seems o be, i hey
gi e money o ma hema ics doing sus ainabili
y, i says a lo abou hem.”
4 “[...] And I would ha e done his e en i we hadn' ecei ed any unding, bu i 's easie i you do and also
you ge acknowledgmen s o ac ually doing hings. […] E e y eache is always s i ing o be as good a
hei wo k as possible. So you de elop you cou ses and you s ay upda ed and you do hings in o de o
imp o e you eaching. And his [ unding] is a way o emphasise ha wo k, I hink.”
5 “[...] we ha e his e alua ion sys em in which such de elopmen is hen e alua ed i i should, add o he
e alua ion poin s. And i I emembe co ec ly, I was gi en a ew addi ional me i poin s o de eloping
his cou se.”
6 “[…] Un o una ely, no many s uden s came a ha ime. […] Then las yea hey asked me o in oduce
his cou se o ano he g oup o s uden s whe e he e is manda o y hey ha e o ake he cou se jus as
hal o he cou se and ha was qui e success all o a sudden. […]”
7 “[...] ha i s ime we had maybe 15 s uden s, some hing like ha . I was like, e y nice o wo k wi h
hem and I hink ha hey lea ned a lo and e e ybody could say wha hey hink and pa icipa e in he
discussions. Las yea we had six y s uden s and i made i comple ely di e en because hen you
canno indi idually discuss wi h e e yone anymo e and i migh be ha some s uden s don’ pa icipa e
in discussions a all, don’ necessa ily say wha hey hink, and migh ge a lo less ou o he cou se han
somebody else. And gene ally I would say ha he small cou se was maybe mo e ui ul o e e yone.
[...]”
8 “I mean we ha e commi ees wi h all he p og amme di ec o s o he enginee ing, bo h he ci il enginee ,
he i e yea , bu also o he h ee-yea p og ammes and especially o he i e yea p og ammes, hey
a e e y posi i e and we lea n om each o he . And also we ha e had a leas one educa ional
con e ence pe yea he e, sus ainabili y issues was one opic his yea .”
9 “[...] we looked a ound o us o see wha o he p og ammes we e doing and wha is a common
app oach o add essing sus ainabili y in educa ional p og ammes and well, i s we alked o [a
colleague], who's esponsible o [ano he p og amme in he same uni e si y], who had al eady
implemen ed a ype o a p ocess o in eg a ing sus ainabili y compe ences in an enginee ing
p og amme [...]”
3.2 Challenges and suppo needs
The iden i ied suppo needs comp ised h ee hemes, which a e desc ibed in de ail
below (quo a ions, Table 4). The key esul , emphasised by nine in e iewees, ha
seemed o a ec all he discussed challenges was ha eaching s a and o he
uni e si y employees lack knowledge abou sus ainabili y in gene al, and on how o
each i . This hen e lec s o all le els o educa ional de elopmen . Challenges ha
we e b ough up speci ically conce ning he concep o sus ainabili y included he
gene al lack o knowledge o sus ainabili y, di icul ies in de ining and discussing
sus ainabili y wi hin he enginee ing educa ion con ex , and a ying pe spec i es on
wha can be conside ed as su icien in eg a ion.
Six pa icipan s iden i ied a colleague who indica ed esis ance o change10-11 when
ying o make sus ainabili y in eg a ion ini ia i es. This was he e o e one o he key
challenges. In addi ion, ambigui y ega ding whose esponsibili y i is o implemen
sus ainabili y ini ia i es was b ough up as an impo an ba ie 12-13, as well as a lack
o con inui y in in eg a ion e o s due o insu icien o ganiza ional p ocesses. O he
men ioned challenges included he non-s anda dized na u e o uni e si y audi s,
unclea c i e ia o wha cons i u es adequa e sus ainabili y in eg a ion in enginee ing
educa ion, and di icul ies in measu ing he impac o hese e o s on s uden s’
lea ning. I was o example said ha he e a e cu en ly no clea ways o measu e
he s age o sus ainabili y in eg a ion in enginee ing educa ion in uni e si ies, which
would acili a e indi idual in eg a ion e o s. One in e iewee also b ough up ha
some people a e hesi an o c ea ing any measu emen s o a oid sus ainabili y
in eg a ion becoming a ick-in- he-box ac i i y wi hou ha ing any impac on eaching.
Finally, he au onomy o acul ies and depa men s was among he ins i u ional
ba ie s, which complica es he implemen a ion o uni e si y-wide s a egies.
P ac ical challenges ha he pa icipan s men ioned we e limi ed esou ces and
di icul ies in a anging cou ses ha ha e sus ainabili y p inciples embedded. The
in e iewees o example men ioned he lack o ime s ongly es ic ing hei abili ies
o wo k on hei p ojec in a le el hey would ha e p e e ed. Many in e iewees also
said ha hey we e o e all oo busy in hei posi ions. P ac ical adminis a i e asks
we e he key eason ha hinde ed he success ul implemen a ion o cou ses. Fo
example, gues lec u e s’ paymen s and o ganizing la ge uni e si y wide cou ses
ook ime om he ac ual eaching o sus ainabili y. He e, he in e iewee e e ed o
he suppo ac o s and said ha he uni e si y o acul ies could help o o e come
he challenges by p o iding esou ces and acili a ing collabo a ion be ween he
eache s in ol ed in he cou se.
Table 4: Quo a ions ela ing o challenges and suppo needs.
No
Quo a ion
10 “[...] hose who don' wan o ge in ol ed, [...] So you ha e o p obably wai gene a ions ou . [...] i 's e y
ha d o ask people o go and do some hing o he han wha hey a e doing. So igh now he old
gene a ion.”
11 “Bu many say hings like, ‘No, I don' ha e ime o do ha . And i 's mo e impo an ha we make su e
ha we ge good enginee s in he di e en disciplines.’ [...] So he e is some esis ance. No oo much. I
mean, i 's so much be e now han 10 yea s ago, bu s ill i 's like ‘I can' pu any hing mo e in my cou se.
I 's packed.’ Yeah, bu you can weak hings and you can ha e mo e a gumen a ion, mo e discussions,
mo e like c ea i i y in he cou se. Bu i 's ough o some.”
12 “[...] e e yone doesn' ha e o be as in ol ed in his bu we ha e o ha e a couple o eache s o a
hand ul o eache s ha ake esponsibili y o adding his laye in cou ses whe e i 's ele an eally, [...]”
13 “I 's no eally he eache s in he cou se o he cou se esponsibles, i 's no eally hei esponsibili y.
I
hink i 's o us as p og amme di ec o s o he di e en p og ammes and i 's also, o cou se, om he
acul y le el. And om he acul y le el, we ha e no had so much help, I would say.”
4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Ou indings s eng hen he iews ha ha e eme ged om ea lie s udies.
Sus ainabili y in eg a ion does equi e esou ces, mo i a ed and su icien ly
compe en eache s, and manage s ha acili a e he e o s (Ka inen e al., 2017;
Weiss e al., 2021). The e o s a e mainly supp essed by he lack o all hese and by
he ambigui y o sus ainabili y as a concep (Ka inen e al., 2017; Weiss e al.,
2021). Howe e , some no el indings ha eme ged om ou da a h ough induc i e
analysis help explain wha is unde pinning hese somewha amilia indings.
The mos in e es ing inding in ou in e iews was he e ec o ecogni ion. Teache s
eally seem o be empowe ed by he app ecia ion hey ecei e om hei e o s,
ei he by s uden s, pee s, o he managemen . This was also connec ed o he
unding and pe sonnel esou ces he pa icipan s had ecei ed, as well as o he
suppo and help hey had go om he managemen – in he in e iew da a, i almos
el like he ecogni ion and app ecia ion shown o he eache s was he bes ewa d
o hem, and he ac ual suppo , unding o o he esou ces, we e only a seconda y,
ye c ucial mechanism ha enabled hei wo k. In p ac ice, his means ha he
ins i u ions seem o lack p ope incen i e mechanisms o educa ional de elopmen
in gene al, and speci ically o sus ainabili y- ela ed ini ia i es.
On he suppo needs and challenges ou esul s indica e ha despi e sus ainabili y
in eg a ion has been ac i ely discussed o a leas wo decades, he p ac ical wo k
s ill lacks adequa e ins i u ional p ocesses and suppo mechanisms. Ou in e iews
e ealed o example ha he e is ambigui y on whose esponsibili y he in eg a ion
is and who should be leading he wo k - indi idual eache s, p og amme di ec o s, o
op manage s. This implies de iciencies in how he ambi ious sus ainabili y s a egies
o No dic and Bal ic echnical HEIs become implemen ed h ough ins i u ional
p ocesses. I also implies sho comings in how educa ional de elopmen a ound
sus ainabili y is being o ganized. These lacking ins i u ional p ocesses o suppo
sus ainabili y in eg a ion seemed o unde pin also ou pa icipan s’ ponde ings on
lacking c i e ia o su icien in eg a ion, o measu ing o s uden s’ lea ning o
sus ainabili y, as hese a e ools ha could subs an ially acili a e g ass oo le el and
bo om-up wo k, bu ough o be acili a ed h ough op-down p ocesses o each
adequa e impac in he ins i u ions.
To conclude, his s udy ex ends cu en unde s anding o he d i e s and ba ie s o
in eg a ing sus ainabili y in o enginee ing educa ion. Ou indings pa icula ly help
e iew he cu en means o de elop he in eg a ion and mo i a e he educa o s. The
implica ions o ou indings pa icula ly emphasize a shi in ocus om how o
educa e he educa o s o how o se common goals and acili a e educa o s’ wo k
h ough imp o ing ins i u ional p ocesses. Based on ou in e iews, i seems e iden
ha he bes mo i a ing ac o o eache s o ac o sus ainabili y is o see and eel
ha hei wo k is app ecia ed. We he e o e encou age all manage s, enginee ing
educa o s, and s uden s o cou ageously p omo e he good examples ha exis in
he uni e si ies, bu we speci ically sugges he uni e si ies o also conside mo e
o mal means o ewa ding and incen i izing sus ainabili y ini ia i es o boos ac ion
in he communi y. Fu he , we s ongly ecommend e iewing ins i u ional p ac ices
in place o sus ainabili y in eg a ion, as ou s udy indica es ha many ins i u ions
could in es mo e in c ea ing common unde s anding o he goals o sus ainabili y
in eg a ion, means o embed i in cu icula, and o acili a e collabo a ion be ween
eache s, depa men s, and di e en disciplines.
5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like o since ely hank all he in e iewees o hei aluable con ibu ions
o his s udy. We also hank he Co-Educa o s P ojec o Aal o Uni e si y ha
enabled his wo k by p o iding inancial and collegial suppo , and he No dic-Bal ic
ne wo ks ha helped inding sui able in e iewees and scope o he s udy.
