Systems Thinking

Of Sandboxes and Hourglasses: Reflections of a Young Person in Times of Change

Author: William Capps, University of Bristol Will is a 23-year old sustainability advocate and recent graduate from the University of Bristol. With a critical perspective on Higher Education, he is keen on exploring the more-than-necessary radical and disruptive ideas about how universities can lead the transition to a more just, equitable and environmentally sound future. Continue reading “Of Sandboxes and Hourglasses: Reflections of a Young Person in Times of Change”

Consilience

In Search of the Unity of Knowledge by E. O. Wilson I have recently returned to reading the biologist and polymath’s 1998 book in search of some answers to why there is an absence of political leadership capable of addressing our current ecological and environmental crises. I have adapted and summarised some of the earlyContinue reading “Consilience”

Applying Systems Thinking to the Implementation of the SDGs

Before the UN SDG Summit to be held in New York, US, this September, UN Member States must decide on their priorities for accelerating progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We argue that Member States can prioritize some Goals above others, to boost progress on the 2030 Agenda. To be able to doContinue reading “Applying Systems Thinking to the Implementation of the SDGs”

PROJECT BASED LEARNING

A recent book from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) highlights how universities are not providing the majority of their students with the critical thinking skills required by employers. In their study analysing data from the US, UK, Italy, Mexico, Finland and China, 45 per cent of students were found to be proficient in criticalContinue reading “PROJECT BASED LEARNING”

New Ways of Seeing the World: Big History and Great Transition

Opening essay for a GTI Forum David Christian May 2023 As the first astronauts peered down on Earth from space, they saw the planet anew. They all had the same epiphany, as the sight of one small, fragile world, embedded in a huge universe briefly replaced the multiple, ever-changing impressions of everyday life. To buildContinue reading “New Ways of Seeing the World: Big History and Great Transition”

HOSPICING OUR UNIVERSITIES IN DECLINE

In this the third of my most recent blogs on the theme of a University for the Common Good – I reflect on the decline of our current model of the University and how the concept of “hospicing a habit of being” coined by Stein et al(2020) might enable those of us who have arguedContinue reading “HOSPICING OUR UNIVERSITIES IN DECLINE”

CAN WE REIMAGINE THE UNIVERSITY?

In my earlier post I set out the idea that universities are of the crisis rather than as is widely understood that external risks are the real threat to them. I have written an earlier blog(Educating Earth Literate Leaders) – if we look back on the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (2002) and many of theContinue reading “CAN WE REIMAGINE THE UNIVERSITY?”

NEW ECONOMY based on NEW SYSTEMS

The role of human agency is an essential element of the authors of this new books analyses, evaluations, and prescriptions. If humanity is to live in harmony with itself, with other creatures, and in balance with the planet’s ecological systems, then we must be clear about what we can and cannot do, and what weContinue reading “NEW ECONOMY based on NEW SYSTEMS”

PEDAGOGIES OF TRANSITION

The times call for pedagogies that cultivate integrated knowledge and global citizenship, yet we continue to educate for a world we don’t want. In the long term, we need educational systems aligned with new imperatives, while in the near term offering innovate curricula and teaching within existing systems. The forward-looking educators on this Forum’s panels—Frameworks and Practices—probeContinue reading “PEDAGOGIES OF TRANSITION”

REGENERATIVE THINKING and AGENCY

By Josie Warden RSA Today, our path has reached a cliff edge. As a species we are disrupting the balance of our Earth and undermining the systems that make our home liveable. At the same time, we are extracting from and exploiting one another. Despite the wealth and technology available in the world today, millionsContinue reading “REGENERATIVE THINKING and AGENCY”