NIU — Mainstreaming Education for Sustainable Development

Traditionally, Pacific Island people have lived a subsistence lifestyle with taboos and practices that ensured sustainability of resource use. However, in a world that is becoming increasingly networked, globalised and western knowledge-based, the situation of the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) continues to be one of growing vulnerability with an increasing inability to respond to these changes. The small size, remoteness, fragile ecosystems and economies make these countries very special cases of environment and development. In order to address this challenge, the PICs have embraced sustainable development as a pathway for the future by becoming party to various international, regional and national agreements. However, the capacity needed for the implementation of these agreements, strategies and action plans is grossly lacking in the Pacific region. Recognising that education is the key to sustainable development and with the declaration of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) by the United Nations (UNDESD, 2005), the Pacific Island Countries have started taking special measures to use ESD to build capacity for progress towards sustainable livelihoods for all.

The NIU Project is designed to promote a greater collaboration among the three major Universities in the Pacific Island region – The University of the South Pacific (USP), University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) and the National University of Samoa (NUS), will be required to mainstream ESD principles and practices in the curriculum to produce graduates, especially postgraduate, who will have the capacity to address the SD challenges of the vast Pacific Island region. The practical problems to be addressed within the NIU project are:

The lack of institutional structures and mechanisms for the infusion and mainstreaming of ESD into the teaching and research programmes;
The lack of dedicated courses and programmes on SD and ESD, especially at the postgraduate level;
The disjointed and limited body of research-based information and knowledge relevant to ESD/SD issues.

The overall objective of the NIU project is to build the institutional capacity of the three Pacific universities to mainstream and apply ESD in their curriculum, research and enhance their capacity to empower the multiple target groups in the different PICs to facilitate the promotion of sustainable development in their countries.

The specific cbjectives may be described as:

To enhance institutional capacities in Pacific universities by mainstreaming ESD through innovative networking;
To introduce maximum flexibility into the delivery of courses by using multi-media and interactive e-learning approaches – ICT applications;
To make universities more relevant to the communities those surround them;
To enhance initiative and innovation through action research for sustainable development.

Proposed Activities

The NIU Project is designed in such a way that while there is a uniform theme and principles that run across it, most of the specific activities will be unique to each participating organisation aimed at meeting their needs. However, the project will promote joint courses and research projects using common approaches in three priority areas:

The Management/Administrative Capacity: This is designed to provide the overall institutional arrangements necessary for the successful implementation of the NIU project;
The Academic Relevance component: this section will be developed allowing for the different academic demands of the partners and the regional needs they address;
The Capacity-Building in Research and Technology complement: this is directly linked to the academic component. The emphasis here will be for a broader view of research, and through a critical investigation to discover new facts through systematic studies, particularly action research approaches.

Sustainability of the project after the completion of the action

The activities developed in this project are logical extensions of the teaching and research programmes of the three partner universities. The distance mode delivery of courses will considerably improve the accessibility and the flexibility of the courses. As the actions proposed in this project become more institutionalised with strategies, policies and programmes, the resulting enabling environment will assure sustainability of the goals beyond the life-time of the NIU project.

The NIU project aims to achieve the following results:

Strengthened and strategic management/admin arrangements in HEIs for ESD promotion;
New and re-oriented courses and programs which incorporate the latest ESD/SD research findings;
Several resource materials suitable for use by a cross section of the community;
New and value added networks and programs for non-formal and informal ESD promotion;
In the long-term, quality education that is relevant to the needs of the labour market, and consistent with the socio-economic priorities of the regional ACP countries.

Grant:

197611

Project duration:

36 months (30/12/08 to 29/12/11)

EU funding:

EUR 486,726

Total budget:

EUR 572,619

Project contact:

Dr. Pa’olelei Luteru

Aliti Koroi
The University of the South Pacific
Laucala Campus
Laucala Bay Road
Private Mail Bag
Suva
Fiji

Tel: +679 323 2149
Email: koroi_al@usp.ac.fj

Web: www.usp.ac.fj/index.php

Project website: NIU

Factsheet(s):

118_3_NIU.pdf

Aliti Koroi

Anjeela Johkan

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… financed by the European Union and Implemented by the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States Secretariat, the programme supports cooperative projects between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the ACP Group of States, the EU Member States and other eligible countries. more about EDULINK...