Findings at Tallinn University
Greetings from the Estonian side of the project! We would like to thank the Japanese students and reflect on this collaborative project, which the aim was to find out how sustainability is thought about in our following universities. This project not only showed us how sustainability is thought about amongst teachers and faculty members, but for many of us, this project was also the gateway to learn more about SDGs and what sustainability is for us individually as well. What made this project different and fun was the possibility to collaborate with students from Japan. The time difference between Estonia and Japan was both interesting and challenging at times, but despite the 7 hour difference we can happily say that the project was a success!
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- Tallinn University Team
The Estonian side interviewed 10 faculty members and 7 management staff members, who were chosen randomly. We would like to highlight the following findings that need improvement:
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The way sustainability is thought about and understood in Tallinn University (TLÜ) differs from person to person amongst both teachers and the faculty staff. There was a slight gap also between some of the teachers and faculty staff mindset: the most common understanding from both sides was sustainability as lasting in the terms of future, however among faculty members we got a lot more different answers: from environment to gender equality and mental wellbeing. In other words, it seems that currently there is a lack of common ground for thinking about sustainability.
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Both teachers and faculty members pointed out that university as an institution has an important role in being a leading example of sustainability within society and through science, help shaping society to develop a sustainable lifestyle. Some faculty members also admitted that TLÜ should focus more on living up to this role.
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Apart from university, what was also emphasized by some of the teachers and faculty members alike is that whilst university should educate and pass on knowledge about sustainability to students, then ultimately students and graduates are the ones who can change society at large by participating in public debates. We didn’t interview students from TLÜ about their thoughts on sustainability, so this definitely needs to be looked into in the near future.
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In conclusion, what could be deduced from the interviews is that there are mixed views regarding whose responsibility it is to promote and create a more sustainable future. According to SDGs, each one of us carries the responsibility to contribute to creating a more sustainable world, however, there were both teachers and faculty members who questioned whether the individual actions carry weight and that the responsibility should belong to bigger institutions, such as a country or corporations.