The Eden Centre has funding available to employ both undergraduate and postgraduate students as research interns or assistants during the academic year 2023/24.
This is intended to support LSE Academics’ commitment towards education for sustainability, but also to offer students different experiences such as insights into how to embed education for sustainability in the existing curriculum; support curriculum enhancement, participate in course design and research skills development.
Selected students will support staff by identifying sustainability related theoretical frameworks, concepts, readings and case studies for a specific course and/or alternative ways to embed sustainability in the curriculum. These internships will bring together staff who are interested but time-poor and interested students. Staff will discuss the course and their objectives for change with student researchers at the beginning of the project. The expected outcome could be an annotated bibliography providing suggestions for updating the reading list, might include proposals for the lectures and/or assignments so that they are focused on sustainability issues. The Education for Sustainability team will organise an event where students can present the work done and the results achieved in terms of integrating sustainability into the curriculum.
Academics are encouraged to apply by briefly outlining in the application form how they intend to redesign their modules in relation to education for sustainability and will be asked to provide a short plan on how they envisage working in collaboration with the selected student(s). They will also be asked to explain how student involvement will produce change in the curriculum and foster education for sustainability.
Students are also encouraged to invite staff to apply and if they do, it will be possible to select the student leading the proposal to transform the curriculum for the internship programme.
Departments and academics can choose the most suitable model for them. For example:
- activities can take place within or outside term time. However, they need to be completed by the end of July 2024.
- projects can be undertaken by solo students, or more than one student can be involved.
Constraints: Funding can cover up to 10 internships of 25 hours each.
“My strong view is that this program, in particular, holds a pivotal place within the school's broader sustainability strategy and commitment to encourage student-led research for improving teaching and other associated pedagogical outcomes. [...] I can't speak highly enough about what a brilliant and fulfilling experience [the internship] was. [...] I believe projects like the Education for Sustainability Internship Programme are intrinsic parts of the school's very genuine and sincere commitment to improving educational outcomes.
[...] I'd implore every member of the faculty to unequivocally commit themselves to the programme for future academic sessions. It's great to hear that another iteration will be running this academic year. I think the utility of my contribution lies in the fact that, despite having virtually no subject knowledge and literally no teaching experience, I could prepare a detailed lesson plan for someone else. This experience personally enlightened me regarding the empirics and practicalities of real-world implications of these matters.
Moreover, I believe that the student perspective played a crucial role in designing and devising two weeks' worth of activities. These were tailored for students like me, not from a natural sciences background, enabling them to engage well and build on the content presented in mandatory readings and lectures.” - UG student, EfS Internship cohort 2022/23
Since 2019, the Eden Centre has enabled 49 LSE students across 12 departments to collaborate with staff to extend and expand research projects. The ambitious Undergraduate Research Internship Scheme was founded with the aim of integrating students into the scholarly research-rich environment of the School – a key ambition of LSE 2030 and the LSE Student Futures initiative.
Now the Education for Sustainability initiative aims to offer undergraduate and postgraduate students the opportunity to work alongside academics at LSE and engage with sustainability issues, developing a range of skills related to education for sustainability.
The LSE Education for Sustainability initiative reflects the LSE 2030 strategy, which promotes global impact education. Similarly, the LSE Strategic Plan for Sustainability clearly commits to integrating sustainability into LSE's teaching and learning experiences by 'strengthening and promoting existing courses and learning pathways that can provide students with a more comprehensive understanding of the environmental and social dimensions of sustainability, incorporating environmental sustainability into the LSE curriculum, and promoting interdisciplinary activities and solutions'.
The latest funding round closed on 20 January 2024.
All projects will be considered, and selected applicants will be contacted within 10 working days of the respective deadline.
With limited funds, we are likely to prioritise:
- Projects that clearly demonstrate how student involvement can produce change in the curriculum and promote education for sustainability.
- Projects that provide a clear plan describing how the applicant intends to work in collaboration with the selected student.
- Courses with no current sustainability content and departments lacking a sustainability-focused curriculum.
Academic staff will also need to be able to commit to:
- discuss with the student at the beginning and end of the project and be available for enquiries in the meantime;
- drawing on the students’ work to make changes for 2024/25;
- report briefly on the process.
Once the projects have been selected by the Eden Centre’s Selection Panel, you will be responsible for selecting the student(s) and ensuring that the recruitment process is fair and transparent.
If your application is successful, you will be given a budget code to use when raising the contract (which will need to be edited to contain your department’s ‘Cost Centre’ code). Your department will be responsible for setting up a contract for the student(s), and submitting timesheets for them, although Eden Centre staff are happy to help with this.
The Eden Centre is pleased to discuss potential projects - please contact us via m.rotolo@lse.ac.uk.