The first ever Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainability Learning was launched at Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 on the 6^th of February 2023. The exciting inter-disciplinary qualification was created to open up more study pathways in the environmental education sector. Curriculum co-developer, Assoc. Prof Lausanne Olvitt in the Environmental Learning Research Centre, explained that the PGDip is designed around the question of how to teach and learn together for sustainable futures. “This is a unique opportunity for practitioners from all disciplinary backgrounds to explore, debate and co-create quality sustainability learning processes in their own work or community settings”, she said.

The PGDip in Sustainability Learning is a collaborative offering of two departments at Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网: the Department of Secondary and Post-School Education (where the Environmental Learning Research Centre is located) and the Department of Environmental Science. Curriculum co-developer, Dr Jessica Cockburn from the Department of Environmental Science, says: “This qualification responds to clearly expressed needs in the environmental sector for the development of relational and transformational competencies. What we mean by this is that practitioners, researchers and others working in this space are hungry for capacity development that goes beyond content knowledge and technical skills: they want to learn how to facilitate meaningful engagement with a range of actors. We are excited to be able to respond to this call!”

The new qualification is offered at Level 8 on the South African National Qualifications Framework, giving access to selected Masters programmes such as the MEd in Environmental Education. It is offered part-time over two years to make studying more accessible to mid-career professionals and those not residing close to Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网. Students meet on campus in Makhanda four times per year for intensive week-long teaching blocks. The PGDip is being piloted during 2023 and 2024, and the next intake of students will be in January 2025.