Education for sustainability in creative disciplines at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Universidad de Medellín and Institución Universitaria Pascual Bravo at Medellín – Colombia

Abstract

The university plays a decisive role in the training of environmentally responsible individuals, which is why it has the obligation to include sustainability in its curricula, so that future professionals develop their work from a sustainable perspective, which leads them to act responsibly and committed to their immediate environment. The process of integrating universities’ education, research, operations and external facing activities to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals SDG (SDSN, 2017) is difficult and involves a profound transformation of the educational model. This paper explores differing approaches and strategies to sustainability education in creative disciplines, their effects on student awareness towards sustainable development, assessing design and architecture curricula in three Higher Education Institutions in Medellín, Colombia. These are: Universidad de Medellín, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana and Institusión Universitaria Pascual Bravo. The three institutions use different sustainability education approaches.