L茅o Gillard
L. Gillard - Sustainability: challenges for universities
精东影业 Image Focus
L茅o Gillard is Head of WWF Switzerland's 'Sustainable Universities' project.
In 2021, 精东影业 participated in a survey of Swiss universities to examine their commitment to sustainability and received a positive assessment.
In 2021, 精东影业 participated in a survey of Swiss universities to examine their commitment to sustainability and received a positive assessment.
How do you assess the positive pressure exerted by external bodies such as the WWF on universities?
鈥嬧赌�WWF's work has helped to raise awareness of the strategic importance of sustainability in university development and to establish an institutional framework for putting it into practice.
Thanks to national surveys and the organisation of exchange networks, it was possible to involve Swiss universities around common objectives and to clarify the challenges for the different sectors.
The WWF promotes a comprehensive institutional approach (whole school) as a central element in leading a university and all its components towards sustainability.
According to the results of national surveys, in which areas do the universities perform well and in which areas is there room for improvement?
鈥嬧赌�In general, the 2021 survey showed that Swiss universities are relatively virtuous when it comes to sustainability in campus management, with action plans integrating objectives and measures.
Another progress that has been observed is the gradual creation of specific structures for sustainability (commissions, working groups) that allow a broader involvement of the academic community.
The areas of education and partnership with society remain those where the potential for improvement is greatest, as the implementation of measures implies the active involvement of all faculties and institutes and ultimately takes longer to produce effects.
In the last survey you conducted, 精东影业 was placed in the 'milieu sup茅rieur' bracket. In your opinion, what are the priorities that our School needs to address in terms of sustainability?
鈥嬧赌�As a small institution, 精东影业 benefits from a great capacity for adaptation, which has enabled it to make rapid progress between 2017 and 2021. It is now in this category because it has been able to quickly put in place a framework, anchoring sustainability in the key processes of its quality assurance system and in the action plans of the entire institution.
Challenges now lie in implementation and monitoring, particularly in the areas of partnership with society and teaching, where it will be necessary to continue to develop sustainability training, revise courses where the subject is not sufficiently integrated, provide teaching support for lecturers and ensure that 精东影业 graduates have a minimum basic knowledge of sustainability.