We invite education planners, teachers, specialists, researchers and developers to contribute to UAS Journal issue 2/2020. The theme of the issue is Universities of applied sciences promoting ecological sustainability.
Sustainable development was first defined in the Brundtland commission in the United Nations, in 1987. From that point a process started, which has proceeded both internationally and nationally, as well as in governmental and other sectors in the society.
In Finland, sustainable development has been promoted since 1993, when the Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development was established, as the first such commission in the world. The commission involves a large group of societal actors in addition to the government. The first task of the national commission was to define sustainable development as a continuing, organised societal change happening globally, regionally and locally, the goal of which is to secure good life for current and future generations. This also means that the environment, human and economy will equally be taken into account in decision-making and actions (Ministry of the Environment, https://www.ym.fi/en-US/The_environment/Sustainable_development).
Finland is committed to Agenda2030 that was accepted in the UN summit for sustainable development in 2015. Agenda2030 consists of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, many of which concern ecological sustainability, especially goals 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, 13: Climate Action, 14: Life below Water, and 15: Life on Land.
Universities of applied sciences can promote ecological sustainability through various practical measures such as education, projects, and collaboration with actors in the world of work. Various ways of promoting sustainability may also be intertwined, and the scales of promoting ecological sustainability may vary from global to very local.
Article proposals for this themed issue may concern e.g. solutions in teaching the natural scientific basis or applications (e.g. circular or green economy) of ecological sustainability, various projects in monitoring or improving the state of the environment, or developing the sustainability of the acts of the university. In addition to successful projects, we are interested in unsuccessful experiments, through which everyone of us has the opportunity learn a lot.
The maximum length of a specialist article is 10,000 characters, a review 4,000 characters and less formally structured texts about 3,000 characters (incl. spaces). Detailed instructions for authors can be found on uasjournal.fi/in-english/instructions-for-writers
The editors of the themed issue are Eveliina Asikainen/TAMK and Tove Holm/City of Turku.
Eveliina works as a lecturer in Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK), and one of her duties there is to promote sustainable development there. She has worked in positions related to environmental education and promoting sustainable development in various educational institutes for twenty years. She is a biologist, with doctoral degree in 2014. She has been largely involved in forest economy, circular economy, urban planning and participation.
Tove worked with topics of quality, environmental management and promoting sustainable development in a university of applied sciences for 15 years, and thereafter, for three years as an education manager in a unit of sustainable development and management in an adult education institution. For the past couple of years she has been working in the Baltic Sea Challenge in Helsinki and Turku, aiming to engage towns, cities, municipalities and organisations in committing to the Baltic Sea protection The Baltic Sea Challenge has grown into an international network with over 300 actors around the Baltic Sea region, including universities of applied sciences. Tove has a doctoral degree in environmental science in the University of Turku in 2014. Her research is cross-disciplinary: enabling change, and especial promoting sustainable development in education, in universities of applied sciences, with the use of quality assurance.
- Send your article proposal by e-mail to eveliina.asikainen(at)tuni.fi during week 14 (beginning of April).
- Feedback will be sent to the responsible author in week 16.
- Send your final version in week 18 (beginning of May).
- The themed issue will be published in week 20.
