• University of Edinburgh
  • Learning for Sustainability Scotland logo
  • British Council

Learning for a Sustainable Future

4.7 (40 reviews)

Join a personal and professional global learning journey towards a sustainable future. What on Earth could be more important?

6,270 enrolled on this course

Placard showing the earth and the words 'one world'.

  • Duration

    5 weeks

  • Weekly study

    2 hours
Overview
Requirements
Educators
Learner reviews
More courses

Other courses you might like

This course isn't running right now. We can email you when it starts again, or check out these other courses you might like.

UCL (University College London)

Educating for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Schools and Universities

4.9 (16 reviews)

3 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
University of Leeds

Environmental Challenges: Rights and Values in Ecosystem Services

4.5 (46 reviews)

2 weeks

5 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
Trinity College Dublin & IKC3
New

Natural Products: Harnessing Nature’s Resources for a Better World

3 weeks

4 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more

Browse more in Nature & Environment and Teaching

Sustainability
View all courses

Find the right course for you

See your personalised recommendations based on your interests and goals.

Get started

Grow your knowledge of sustainability

Climate change, gender equality, health, social equity, and inclusion are issues that affect us all, impacting human well-being and economic stability. How to live a sustainable life affects – and connects - us all.

On this five-week course, you’ll develop an informed personal response to these major challenges as you’re supported to take positive actions towards a sustainable future.

You’ll learn more about current global issues and consider how we can all take action, personally or locally.

The course has an additional strand for those working in formal or informal education, who want to bring some of the activities and issues covered in the course into their own teaching.

Take action

You’ll learn practical ways to explore values and empower people to examine the ways in which they could take local action on global-scale problems.

Working in this way, starting from where you are within your own context, and sharing this with others throughout the course helps us all to develop a new and collective way of thinking for a sustainable future.

Discover how to work towards a sustainable future

You’ll build your understanding of and knowledge of sustainability and the global challenges that we face and experience within our lives, as you learn from experts at the University of Edinburgh, Learning for Sustainability Scotland and other participants on the course.

By the end of the course, you’ll be more confident and ready to take steps towards a sustainable future.

You may also be interested in our 2-week Learning for a Sustainable Future: Live at COP27 course.

Download video: standard or HD

Skip to 0 minutes and 6 seconds What on Earth could be more important than understanding and tackling the big issues that shape our world? Climate change, gender equality, health, social equity, and inclusion affect us all wherever we live and impact on human well-being and economic stability. Join us on this free online course, and we’ll help you develop an informed personal response to these major challenges and support you to take positive action towards a sustainable future. Over five weeks, we will work together to learn more about current global issues and consider how we can all act to make a difference, personally or locally.

Skip to 0 minutes and 54 seconds The course also includes discussions and resources for those working in formal or informal education who want to bring some of the activities and topics that we will cover into their own teaching. How to live a sustainable life affects and connects us all. Take action by enrolling today.

What topics will you cover?

  • Examining thinking
  • Values and frameworks
  • Systems and connections
  • Moving to action
  • Futures thinking

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Critically reflect upon understandings of the range, scope and nature of 'sustainability'.
  • Consider the role of personal values and frameworks for thinking when investigating sustainability issues.
  • Explore the way in which systems, connections and factors such as intersectionality influence the impact of sustainability issues.
  • Investigate how we might move towards action within our own spheres of influence.
  • Identify and investigate a sustainability issue and share possible next steps towards taking action.
  • Examine educational approaches that may help to develop a response to global challenges.

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone with an interest in sustainability – and that should be all of us, of course!

You may find the course particularly useful if you are involved in education at any level but no formal experience is required.

Who will you learn with?

Beth Christie

Beth is a Senior Lecturer in Learning for Sustainability and Programme Director for the MSc Learning for Sustainability at the Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh.

Sophie Coats

I worked for several years as a Geography teacher, and now I divide my time between motherhood and working with Learning for Sustainability Scotland to deliver online courses on LfS for educators.

Angela Farnish

I am a Learning for Sustainability teacher, Mental Health Officer with a youth charity and outdoor enthusiast.

Pete Higgins

Peter is Professor of Outdoor, Environmental & Sustainability Education at Edinburgh University, Director Learning for Sustainability Scotland, and Trustee of several national environmental charities.

Betsy King

Betsy King is the Development Manager at Learning for Sustainability Scotland, Scotland's UN University- recognised Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development.

Kirsten Leask

Kirsten is a project manager with Learning for Sustainability Scotland. She has a background in secondary education and has worked on sustainability-related initiatives for over fifteen years.

Who developed the course?

The University of Edinburgh

Founded in 1583, the University of Edinburgh is one of the world’s top universities and is globally recognised for research, innovation and high-quality teaching.

Learning for Sustainability Scotland

Learning for Sustainability Scotland is Scotland’s Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development – acknowledged by the United Nations University.

British Council

The British Council builds connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language.

We work on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2019-20 we connected with 80 million people directly and with 791 million people overall, including online and through our broadcasts and publications.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

Learner reviews

Learner reviews cannot be loaded due to your cookie settings. Please and refresh the page to view this content.

Do you know someone who'd love this course? Tell them about it...