Introducing a New Design Culture on Sustainability

Abstract

As promoted by Sustainable Development Goal 4, cultural and structural investments in high- quality education are important to ensure inclusive and fair quality teaching and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This is important considering Target 4.7, which promotes the education for Sustainable Development. The role of the Higher Education sector is paramount. To feed students’ curiosity and empathy toward these issues, Design Universities should foster a new design culture hinged on sustainability from the undergraduate level, as this topic is now relevant to any teaching agenda. Students trained in Design for Sustainability can benefit from a vast set of theoretical and design knowledge developed in the field since 90s. It is known that the cultural transition toward sustainability requires systemic changes and original learning processes linking contextual values and students’ needs with strategic policies addressed by cultural institutions. To meet the above bottom-up and topdown drivers and to increase the quality of teaching, learning, and student experience, new modules are needed.