Certificate "Education, Ecology and Sustainability" (BOeN)
What is the Education, Ecology and Sustainability Certificate?
The goal of the certificate is to develop a responsible and informed attitude towards topics of ecology and sustainability. The focus is on being able to study freely according to one's own interests. The certificate offering therefore includes numerous choices for individual design.
Many of the courses here are not an "extra" effort, but are creditable within the degree program. These include, for example, some courses in the regular pedagogy program, selected events from the ASQ area, an internship in the subject area of education and sustainability, and a final thesis with a clear thematic reference.
Why is the certificate content relevant?
By now, we all know about the ecological-existential problems of our time (climate change, plastic waste, scarcity of resources, air pollution, etc.). Technological solutions and political decisions are simply no longer sufficient to ensure a sustainable livelihood. An awareness of ecological interrelationships is therefore becoming increasingly important for shaping one's own environment and society.
How is the certificate structured?
The certificate program is made up of four areas. The environmental education basics provide basic knowledge and create an overview of the subject area. Interdisciplinary knowledge allows one to look beyond the pedagogical horizon. In the practical engagement in society, theory-based knowledge is applied in concrete activities. In addition, a joint networking meeting (date for 2020 to be announced) with excursions to actors of sustainable development, which can be credited to the certificate, offers an exchange platform for all certificate participants.
The offer is aimed at students of pedagogy (BA) and students of educational sciences (MA) of each semester.
The certificate is issued through proven, active participation in 4 modules. At least 5 certificate points from the area "environmental educational basics", as well as at least 3 points each from the areas "interdisciplinary knowledge" and "practical engagement in society" must be collected. To complete the certificate, the "final reflection" earns 1 point for a short reflection report or a designed poster. Once all 12 points have been recognized, the certificate will be issued during an interview with the responsible persons.
The creditable events and offers as well as the correspondences of the points are listed on the website regularly updated.
For the certificate to be recognized, it is sufficient for the person responsible for the event to confirm active, regular participation. It is therefore not necessary to register for and take exams.
However, it may happen that lecturers require more than just attendance at the events. In most cases, this is noted in the course overview (PDF) under "Notes". In case of doubt, it is recommended to discuss the required participation with the lecturer.
No. If ECTS points are to be earned beyond the points for the certificate, an examination registration and successful examination performance must take place in the respective course.
The certificate points for the individual events are listed in the event overview (PDF). Basically applies:
- Lecture: per 90 minutes 1 point
- Workshop: per 90 minutes 1 point
- Engagement with project/institution/initiative/association: 1 point per 90 minutes
- Networking meeting: 2 points
- BA/MA thesis with the topic environmental education/BNE: 5 points
- entire seminar or lecture: 5 points
The engagement must be completed in the course of your BA/MA studies at the University of Würzburg. Furthermore, you need a written confirmation of the time spent and your areas of activity from the respective institution, which you send to us.
The point can only be earned after all other points for the certificate have already been collected. For this purpose, either a short reflection report or a poster on the contents of the events attended as part of the certificate is prepared. The guidelines for this can be found for download on the certificate website. The document must be sent to the contact persons of the certificate.
The networking meeting offers a common exchange platform for all certificate participants or those who are interested in it. On the one hand, the experiences within the events are jointly exchanged, reflected and discussed. In an excursion to local actors of sustainable development or joint actions, but also concrete insights and action strategies in the field of sustainable development are made possible. The meeting takes place once a year and the participation is credited with a time frame of about 4 hours with two points in the practical area.
The focus of the work must be on the topic of 'sustainability'. The topic must thus be designed against the background of sustainable development and the reference to sustainable development must remain throughout the work. If you are not sure whether your topic is recognized for the certificate, please feel free to contact us.
For the respective event, a confirmation of participation must be printed out and filled in by the participant himself/herself and signed by the respective event manager after completion of the event or on the last date. The forms are provided on the website. Upon presentation of the signed confirmation of participation, the certificate will be issued. The respective event leaders and the procedure for confirming participation will be announced on the event list on the website.
The certificate confirms your successful participation in the courses you have attended. These are all listed in the certificate with the associated area and the time invested in each.
Career prospects:
Participants secure an additional qualification in an increasingly important professional market. Possible jobs include:
- Nature and environmental education institutions
- Associations, societies, foundations, NGOs
- Authorities and political organizations
- Departments for environment and sustainability in companies
- Research and development
- Seminar management in children and youth education centers
Profile building in the field of ESD:
Participants have the opportunity to follow their interests in the field of education for sustainable development and thus sharpen their own profile in a large and complex subject area.
Scientific reflection:
In order to place one's own commitment to sustainable development on a solid foundation, a reflective and responsible attitude is necessary. Participants can practice this in professionally validated events and thus reflect on and justify their own pedagogical and educational planning actions in the future.
Participation in the sustainability discourse:
The focus on interdisciplinary learning makes clear how interconnected and interwoven the topic of sustainability is in social reality. By participating in different courses, students themselves become a connecting element in the sustainability discourse, are able to work out connecting values and see more than just through their own subject-specific glasses.
