Abstract
This paper reports on a sustainable development programme offered within the Environmental Management Division at Moscow State University. The article describes the sorts of topics that students study and their personal backgrounds. Many professionals from industry and environmental organisations enrol on the course and then employ their findings and knowledge about sustainable development education in the workplace.
Introduction
An urgent need to train specialists in Environmental Protection and Sustainable Natural Resources Management in Russia led to the foundation of the Environmental Management Division (EMD) within the Geography Department at Moscow State University 15 years ago. Above all, Geographical education enables those who undertake it to have a more informed global outlook and to understand the cause and effect relationships in the physical and human environment. The sustainable development modules taught to students in the EMD enable them to understand these processes. Amongst other things, the students study the history, types, structures and development of natural resources management systems on a regional level in Russia.
The EMD programme
The Environmental Management Division provides training for students at a variety of levels (e.g. bachelors, specialists and Masters). The sustainable development programme within the division provides specialist training to students on various sustainable development topics. The list of modules offered to students is outlined in below.
The EMD programme on sustainable development includes student-led and interactive forms of teaching including simulation games, designing of regional development models and business planning. To illustrate this point, students in their fourth year were given the task of designing an economic development plan for an area of their choice. Consideration had to be given to population, natural environmental conditions, regional infrastructure and economic issues. Each team, consisting of 3–4 members, worked on the project, presented it, and then held a discussion about it with the other students who were encouraged to look for weaknesses and critically appraise the group’s work. The ensuing discussions turned out to be extremely lively and constructive.
Theoretical and Practical Student Development
Overall, the students demonstrated a high level of theoretical knowledge and good environmental awareness. This knowledge we believe is partly gained through longer-term experiences of modern students in the real-world, where they are able to experience environmental problems at first-hand. Another important element of the programme has been the engagement of the students in environmental movements and external practical work (e.g. ecological camps, ecological tourism, and national and international workshops and seminars). It is precisely these types of activities that enable students to gain valuable experiences from different countries. This in turn promotes their understanding of environmental issues and serves to broaden their ecological, social and cultural horizons. We maintain that such work-related learning should from an integral part of any course on sustainable development.
In addition to the basic education of students in the Environmental Management Unit, there has been an urgent need to create advanced training programmes. As such, the higher-level training course component offered in the Environmental Sciences Unit was developed in response to this national needs analysis. This more advanced stage of study involves staff at Moscow State University, research fellows from the Russian Academy of Science and leading specialists from different State Agencies who contribute to the training programme.
Professional Orientation of the Students
The resulting training programme includes modules on general ecology, natural resources management, environmental assessment and environmental auditing. Specialised courses include the main methods of natural resources management control. The main aim of the advanced training program is not only to help participants to assimilate fundamental environmental information, but also to empower them to use this knowledge in routine practice. As such, the professional composition of the students enrolled on this programme is considerable and diverse. By and large, high and mid-level officials and administrators from different organisations are attracted to the course. Therefore, by virtue of this, the course has a built-in ‘multiplier-effect’; the students then influence the environmental protection policy for the country.
Table 1 List of sustainable development modules offered to students in the EMD at Moscow State University
During its 10 years of activity, the advanced training program has been a great success and has influenced the retraining of high-level officials from the Russian State Agency of Environmental Protection, the Administration of Moscow and the Moscow Region, The Ministry of Defence, The Environmental Committee of Moscow Government and Trade Unions.
Conclusion
Providing environmental training for senior professionals is vital if Russia is to make practical progress towards sustainable development. However, important though it is to train such professionals, it is equally important to ensure that an understanding of sustainable development is embedded much more widely across the education system at all levels from primary to HE. Ideally, courses like the one described in this paper should be the apex of a much wider programme of education for sustainability, touching the lives of all young people, professionals and the public as a whole.