Dear all, I briefly like to present a project, which is currently running at three Austrian universities – called “Sustainicum”. This project aims at fostering sustainability in higher education teaching. We like to develop an online platform for exchange and information, where people (target group: university professors and lecturers) can present their teaching practices in the field of sustainability (focus: innovative and participatory teaching); as well as search for other teaching ideas and get inspired to improve his/her own teaching methods. The contributions range from teaching methods, small thematic components (e.g. simulations, experiences, etc.), to modules about different sustainability topics. The topics include everything that is linked to sustainability (e.g. climate change, sustainable consumption and lifestyles, law and sustainability, traditional knowledge, sustainability processes, and many more). The platform is going to be online end of 2012. By then most of the contributions will be in German only but the idea is to translate them into English as well. I think this platform can be interesting for the RCE network as well – and you are then of course very welcome to contribute your teaching ideas and practices as well!! I’ll inform you as soon as the platform is online.

I am sure Abel you meant to thank Mardem for her contribution!

Dear Marderm, thanks for your thoughts on role of RCEs s to foster sustainable education for development.
We in Africa would like to borrow ideas from other regions as well. I had mentioned earlier the problems African universities are facing in this area.
Briefly, African universities, face acute shortage of research facilities, research funds and innovative ventures funding. On the other hand, given that they have them, there is another problem, the facilities are not utilized and students have limited use of them.
I would like to hear someone from another university preferably outside the continent, talk to us about this, and whether they also have similar problems out there. If not, what can we borrow from them to help us here?

Several months ago, i made a request to one of university management, and outlined to them the need to have research facilities in plenty, because this is where knowledge and innovation lies. Months ago, i again wrote to one of the universities management here and suggested that they invite bids for research institutions, to come and develop research centers in the universities, and offer concessions to them like having the facility with no rent payments, so that the students can access them comfortably. I didn't get any response.

Another area is closely examining the role of RCE in this sector, and do surgery to find out why we are having this problem. Do we have higher education regulators? yes we do. But why are they not performing to regulate this sector, to realize innovative graduate production that conform to labor market demands?

I humbly request my colleagues in other places if they are reading this please let us know where we are failing and why, and what do we need to do. Please.

We have started compulsory sustainable education practices in IUBAT under KBAD Model to reach every corner of the country

KBAD—Knowledge Based Area Development
A Step Towards Community Self-Reliance and Education for Sustainable Development

Professor Mohammed Ataur Rahman
Coordinator RCE Greater Dhaka

Bangladesh is the most densely populated least developed country in the world having a population 165 million in an area 147,570 km². Most of the country is the alluvial flood plain of the Ganges and Brahmaputra Basin and is agriculture-based. But due to intense cultivation and indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides the land has increasingly losing its fertility. Recently growing garments, hide and leather, medicine and ship breaking industries have made a significant economic improvement but at the cost of environmental resources viz. water, air, soil, biodiversity and human health due to pollution and lack of knowledge. Although the government has taken a mass awareness to eradicate illiteracy to cover primary education but that has reached at 53.7% (BBS 2013) only. About seventy percent of the youths of age 15 to 25 are still remain unskilled and many of them do not have the opportunity for higher education. For a strong nation, the youths are the strength but due to lack of opportunity for higher education and training, this population has become a great burden of the society; youths are unemployed, become lazy and they used to get involved with social crimes and political chaos.

Bangladesh is endowed with people, but has very limited natural resources and financial capital. By developing the people in the human capital, it can be overcome some of the limitations of the country’s physical capital and at the same time a foundation of generating capital resources. Considering this, Professor M Alimullah Miyan, Vice-Chancellor and the Founder of IUBAT and the pioneer organizer of establishing Non-Government Universities in Bangladesh, has postulated the concept of “Knowledge Based Area Development (KBAD)” to educate young person from each locality for giving opportunity to go for higher education in ‘marketable knowledge and skills with sustainability practices’. Through active participation of every educated individual of the society it is possible to break the vicious cycle of poverty to build up a prosperous country based on knowledge and skill. This concept has been institutionalized and strengthens the ongoing drive towards nation building and accelerates the dream of making Bangladesh a prosperous self-reliance country.

Fig. Cover page of KBAD booklet
IUBAT—International University of Business Agriculture and Technology is dedicated to research and education for a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future for nation addressing the issues of global environmental changes including climate change, poverty alleviation, resource management and natural conservation etc. to fulfill its commitment to operate the institution within a social and economically sound ecosystem towards a sustainable community. Sustainability is truly an interdisciplinary approach of various disciplines and it is a practical way of living within a community with appropriate knowledge. IUBAT has been implementing dynamic sustainable practices and emerging as a leader to tackle the challenges of sustainability with the aim to spread the practices throughout the country and it has developed this guideline as a basis of national resource to transmit the knowledge into educational institutes, communities, social and industrial organizations.
Bangladesh is one of the worst sufferers of global environmental changes and posing instability with its huge population with multifaceted crises viz. food, energy, water, waste management, pollution and natural resources. The country has been suffering from natural and human induced calamities with increased frequencies in the last few decades. Moreover, unplanned urbanization, industrialization, roads and highways; indiscriminate application of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, destruction of forests and wet-bodies, withdrawal of ground water and introduction of unsuitable practices for agriculture have aggravated the situation causing poverty, widening the gap between rich and poor, deteriorating biodiversity and harming human health.
IUBAT, the first Non-Government University of Bangladesh, has emerged as a higher education institute to create human resource capital with skilled manpower having specific knowledge on sustainability for last two decades. It has a distinct history of disaster management training, health and hygiene program for the urban slum dwellers, spreading education through education loan into the rural Bangladesh. All these efforts and expertise lead to chose right development options for the country which are sustainable. IUBAT is playing an important role in human resource development with specific knowledge about sustainable practices and gradually expanding its activities throughout the country. Presently more than 12,000 students are engaged in spreading education for sustainable development (ESD) practices by gaining knowledge, changing attitude and sustainable practices in the campus with the motto: An Environment Designed for Learning. IUBAT has started development of Green Campus with all sustainable activities since August 12, 2008. In 2011, its Centre for Global Environmental Culture (CGEC) has been acknowledged by the United Nations University (UNU IAS) as the host of the UN program of Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE Greater Dhaka) in Bangladesh.
A mandatory education for sustainability course has been introduced for all of its students of IUBAT. In this course, importance of environmental sciences, ecosystem services, basic needs and resources their availability and limitations are taught to aware students of all disciplines of the university. For a sustainable use-practice of natural resources like energy, air, water, minerals, soil and biodiversity etc., emphasizing 3R’s i.e. reduce, reuse and recycle are being practiced throughout the campus life.
For a conscious and knowledge-based society IUBAT has been teaching ethics, moral justice, and grooming up as skilled human resource for national and international job markets as well as spreading higher education allover in Bangladesh by educational funding under the KBAD program. The program under operation and its progress and the success and the challenges have been updated and published in the form of a booklet (ISBN 984-70060-0003-7) in April 2013, www.iubat.edu/kbad. KBAD can be a model for other developing countries to make human resource to bringing prosperity in the society.

For Kenya case in higher education for sustainable development, i suggest we invite Commission for Higher Education and Teachers Service Commission to come and explain to the conference the reasons declining education standards in Kenya.
I want to believe that Commission for higher education are responsible for approving education curricular here in Kenya. It is also responsible for overseeing implementation of various standards and quotas that sets up the colleges and universities charters in Kenya i.e. education facilities like classrooms, labs, accommodation hostels, learning resources standards like libraries, teacher to student ratios etc. Likewise, the Teachers Service Commission also is an expert in her own field of teacher recruitment at lower secondary and primary schools and also is an oversight authority that deals with teacher discipline and service standards.

Both these two are RCE in their own making, and should be held accountable for the falling standards in our institutions in Kenya.
As we wait to see if they will be at the conference, the major questions i want to pose for the two RCEs are as stated below:
One, Commission for higher education had been approving university charter establishments, even with their own knowledge that lecturer to student ratio is unacceptable. in most of universities. In one university you will find that there exists one lecturer for every 400 students per subject, that the lecturer teaches. How can the lecturer mark 400 scripts of all the students within one 1 month and avail results and still claim that he marked them professionally? This is also taking into account the fact that the lecturer also has other classes in addition to this one, maybe 4 more classes of similar number of students. Therefore making a total of 1,200 scripts in total.You will agree with me that it is not possible to produce credible results marking 1,200 scripts in 20 days and say you have marked them well and professionally.

As RCE Lusaka we are grateful to be part of this resource of experts in our effort to ensure our country's development efforts are sustainably managed.
We are plotted in our Strategy to work with local communities in promotion of innovations and development of sustainable technologies for poverty alleviation, resource management, in order to overcome existing local challenges.

We are also promoting mainstreaming ESD curricula in formal learning institutions and other member organizations.
Of course shortage of research facilities, research funds and innovative ventures funding are just some of the challenges that have been noted.So it would be great to learn from other countries that have been on this chart longer than us .

Dear colleagues I am happy that we have started realising that we have to change our Patten in our educational system to make it more reasonable and realistic in order to satisfy our teaming growing population socially, economically and morally. Lack of good system of education is endangering our security particularly we in Africa. There fore our tertiary education must be centered toward sustainable development and must incorporate locals communities. Recently in kano Nigeria Government have established eight institutions, in poultry, fisheries, livestock, catering, entrepreneurs ship, hospitality and s horticulture that trains thousand of yuoth in various trades related to this schools and empowered them to continued independent of the government by giving them loan at the end of training .Teachers from universities and colleges in collaboration with these institutions as well as the local government provides support for this exercises. Currently over 3000 youth have benefitted-)TheRce kano have participated in some of the training. It will be good if we can discuss further on this. Thank you Tiiiani RCEKano

As we are a quite young RCE - Euregio Tyrol- we can´t offer experiences in SDE projects worked well. But we started the preparation of some initiatives, e.g. interdisciplinary lectures which will be held crossboarder in two different regions. The challenges we face are budget-restrictions at universities, a lack of consciousness of SDE and different legal conditions between countries. I am really looking forward to discussing with the experienced ones among the RCE community. Till soon Johanna