Best Practices Repository

University College Dublin (UCD) developed an interactive sustainability dashboard to make sustainability activities, services, infrastructure and institutional resources more visible across the campus. Organised around the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the dashboard combines spatial data with information on university policies, strategies and sustainability initiatives. The initiative was developed through collaboration between students, faculty, professional staff and institutional stakeholders. The process combined a review of existing sustainability reports, a campus-wide consultation, systematic data collection and mapping, stakeholder review, and iterative dashboard development. Beyond communicating existing initiatives, the dashboard establishes a baseline for monitoring sustainability, reveals gaps in available data and institutional action, and can inform decisions about future priorities. It is also used as a teaching and learning resource, connecting students with real sustainability data and supporting living-lab and experiential learning approaches. For other higher education institutions, the case offers an adaptable approach to making sustainability efforts visible, engaging the university community in data collection and review, and connecting evidence with institutional action. Explore the dashboard here: https://www.ucd.ie/sustainability/resources/

Vrijplaats is a multidisciplinary and self-subsidised initiative connected to Artevelde University of Applied Sciences. Vrijplaats brings together education, research, design thinking, arts and cultural education, outdoor learning, and sustainability education. It offers students opportunities to engage in sustainability-related internships and projects, and collaborates with NGOs, social partners, public authorities, other higher education institutions, UNESCO-related initiatives, and local youth and community organisations.

Doble Via is a multidisciplinary cooperation between students from the different UCLL Faculties (Health, Management, Technology, Social Work and Teacher Training). Belgian students work together with Ecuadoran students from the Faculties of 5 UPS Undergraduate Degree Programmes in Cuenca, considering the 5 areas of knowledge (Administrative Sciences, Science and Technology, Life Sciences, Education Sciences, and Social Sciences and Human Behavior). Thanks to long-standing experiences, the project aims to give students opportunities to work in multidisciplinary environments whenever possible. In the Doble Vía project, students from various UCLL programmes are working together with students from the Ecuadorian UPS university on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Focus mostly on SDG's 1, 4, 8 and 13 . Doble Via's objectives are to create future-oriented and powerful learning environments. This is to be achieved from the renewed vision on critical reflection and with the help of evidence-informed research.

At the heart of the Banaba Global Citizenship and Development programme at UCLL is a commitment to developing individuals who are not only globally-minded but also equipped to tackle the world's challenges through sustainable and responsible actions. The programme is designed to equip students with the skills and experience necessary for active global citizenship, combining theoretical knowledge with practical application. It comprises an 8-week preparatory course followed by a 6-month internship. - For European students the internship takes places in the Global South, more specifically in Latin-America, Africa or Asia. - For Non-European students, the internship mostly takes place in Belgium or Portugal. The programme integrates sustainable development principles and examines the interconnectedness of global issues, based on the UN's Sustainable and Inner Development Goals (SDGs and IDGs).

A three-day professional training programme on climate coaching, focusing on how to guide groups in tackling complex challenges such as climate change. Participants are trained in participatory methods, climate psychology, and coaching techniques, enabling them to lead change processes more effectively. The training is hosted by UCLL with facilitators from KlimaatContact.

To support Flemish higher education institutions in integrating sustainability into their curricula. Objectives: - Enable lecturers to recognize and formulate sustainability competences. -Guide curriculum coordinators in embedding sustainability goals and learning outcomes into degree programs.

The Leuven 2030 Urban Lab creates a real-world environment in which students, researchers, public authorities, citizens and organisations can work together on urban sustainability challenges. The city becomes a space for learning, inquiry and experimentation, connecting education with ongoing transitions in areas such as climate adaptation, circular economy, biodiversity, energy and sustainable food. For students, this creates opportunities to investigate complex problems in their actual social, environmental and institutional contexts and to interact with the stakeholders involved. KU Leuven student projects illustrate this approach: interdisciplinary teams have explored biodiversity and water resilience through neighbourhood-based inquiry and investigated circular behaviours through research and storytelling. The Urban Lab demonstrates how living-lab approaches can connect curricula with place-based sustainability action. Within GREEN LEAF, it integrates Learning through experiential and challenge-based inquiry, Engagement through collaboration with city and community actors, and Action by enabling student knowledge and ideas to contribute to ongoing local sustainability transitions. Learn more: https://leuven2030urbanlab.be/

The Leuven Learning Ecosystem (LLES) is a city-wide network that connects formal education with informal and community-based learning opportunities across Leuven. Educational institutions, community organisations, maker spaces and local initiatives form an ecosystem in which learning can take place across different settings and stages of life. The model expands the learning environment beyond classrooms and campuses. Making spaces, repair hubs and other community settings provide opportunities to learn through participation in real practices, while partnerships across sectors connect education with local social and sustainability priorities. One example is the collaboration between Herstelhub Textiel and social enterprise Vites, which gives damaged second-hand clothing a longer life through local repair. LLES illustrates how curriculum and lifelong learning can become part of a wider community ecosystem. It connects Learning through authentic and non-formal experiences, Engagement through local partnerships and shared learning spaces, and Action through practical initiatives that contribute to circularity, inclusion and community development.

Campus Corso is a community-driven learning space in Leuven, Belgium, where education, entrepreneurship and social engagement come together. Operating as both a community venue and an open learning environment, it creates opportunities for students, educators, citizens, entrepreneurs and local organisations to meet, collaborate and develop initiatives around real community needs. Its value for curriculum transformation lies in bringing learning into an authentic social setting. Students can interact with local actors, practise professional skills and participate in projects that create value for the wider community. One example is a student-run hair salon developed with a local secondary school, where hairdressing students work with real clients and gain experience in service delivery and client interaction while providing an accessible service to the community. Campus Corso illustrates how shared community spaces can connect formal education with experiential learning, co-creation and civic participation, positioning learners as active contributors to their local social and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Learn more: https://campuscorso.be/