Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Module 1

Importance and relevance of the SDGs for your career

About the module

This module provides students with a comprehensive exploration of how the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be integrated into career planning and development. It aims to raise awareness of the SDGs, foster a critical and contextualised understanding of their interconnections with career skills and goals, and teach students how to navigate their careers through sustainability with a holistic and interdisciplinary approach. The course covers the integration of SDGs into professional goals, future career trends, and methods for monitoring and measuring the impact of career choices on these goals. Through pedagogical approaches that emphasise holistic and interdisciplinary learning, problem-based and reflexive learning, the module helps students develop anticipatory skills, critical thinking, self-awareness, and a practical understanding of how to embody sustainability values in their career choices. By engaging in practical assignments and reflective journaling, students are empowered to make career decisions that contribute to sustainability, positioning them to envision and shape a sustainable future while evaluating the broader impact of their professional pathways.

Length
24 minutes
Effort
Self paced, learn at your own effort
Price
Free
Prerequisites
No prior experience is required
Requirements
An internet connection to access and download module materials
Level
Introductory
Language
English
Associated Skills
Anticipatory, critial thinking, self-awarness, embodying sustainability values, and envision sustainable future
Learning objectives
  • Develop a holistic understanding of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by providing a comprehensive overview that enhances awareness of SDGs significance.
  • Foster a critical and contextualized comprehension of the SDGs by exploring the inter-linkages, tensions, and synergies between the SDGs and essential career skills, goals, challenges, and opportunities.
  • Gain knowledge and skills to navigate careers in the context of sustainability issues, emphasizing an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to the SDGs.
  • Provide strategies to navigate careers with a focus on sustainability, enabling learners to create, assess, and enhance their impact on the SDGs.
  • Empower learners to actively contribute to sustainability through informed career choices that align with the SDGs.
  • Offer practical tools that encourage a mindset of 'thinking sustainability,' helping students to integrate a holistic and interdisciplinary understanding of the SDGs into their career planning and relevance.
Learning outcomes
  • Evaluate future career scenarios and apply sustainability principles to your professional pathways.
  • Critically assess the impact of SDGs on your careers and reflect on your role in sustainability.
  • Reflect on your role in the global community and the impact of your career choices on sustainability.
  • Integrate sustainability values into career planning, envisioning how your choices affect career and society's future.

Modules' structure

Meet the presenter
Medisa Focic

Researcher and Project manager,
International Center for Knowledge Resilience

PhD candidate,
University of Technology Sydney

Acknowledgement
This MOOC is published as part of the Erasmus+ project “Sustainable Development Strategies for Higher Education Institutions” (SDS4HEI) funded under the Erasmus+ Programme KA222-HED – Cooperation Partnerships in Higher Education, project no. 2022-1-DE01-KA220-HED-000088936, co-funded by the European Union.
Legal Notice
The views and opinions expressed in this document are the authors’ sole responsibility. They do not reflect the views of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Copyright
The copyright is by the authors. The document is available in open access and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See credit lines of images or other third-party material in this report for license information.
© 2025 The SDS4HEI Project. All rights reserved.
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