Graduates attributes & Educational Principles

Our graduates: ready to lead the sustainability transition

EU GREEN graduates are expected to be responsible professionals and engaged global citizens, equipped with core competencies for sustainability and a strong ethical foundation. Our Graduate Attributes Framework serves as the backbone for curriculum design and quality assurance.

Graduate Attributes

EU GREEN graduate attributes framework includes a set of generic competencies deemed desirable for students to develop and enhance key competencies for sustainability and become responsible professionals and global citizens.

This framework includes general competencies (communication, critical thinking, learning), professional competencies (communication and project management), disciplinary knowledge and key competencies for sustainability.

Systems Thinking

Understanding interconnections between environmental, social and economic systems.

Anticipatory Thinking

Ability to forecast future trends and prepare for uncertainty.

Normative Thinking

Reflecting on values, ethics, and what is desirable.

Strategic Thinking

Planning effective actions to achieve sustainability goals.

Interpersonal Skills

Collaborating and communicating across disciplines and cultures.

Implementation Skills

Translating ideas into real-world action and innovation.

Integration Competence

Connecting knowledge from multiple fields and perspectives.

Intrapersonal Competence

Self-awareness, motivation, and emotional regulation.

Our Six Educational Principles

To ensure that graduates develop the set of competencies that prepare them to help solve sustainability challenges, EU GREEN identified a set of six macro educational principles or features that should be present in EU GREEN new joint programmes:

Sustainability-aligned Education

  • Integrate sustainability issues through curriculum

  • Foster the key competencies for sustainability

  • Design curricula aligned with Research Clusters

  • Encourage collaborative multi-actors and interdisciplinary approaches

Transformative Learning

  • Use Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

  • Use learning methodologies that foster students’ agency

  • Emphasise formative assessment

  • Academic staff involved in programmes trained on active learning methodologies, teaching for sustainability and UDL

Transnational & Pluricultural Learning

  • Encourage collaborative teaching and collaborative learning among members of partner institutions

  • Encourage plurilingualism, both among students and academic and non-academic staff

  • Encourage all forms of mobility

  • Promote intercultural teaching and learning experiences

Ethical & Value-based Education

  • Provide an inclusive curriculum aligned to the equality, diversity and inclusion charter

  • Promote ethical considerations in the use of education technology

  • Commit to Academic Integrity, defining guidelines for preventing, detecting and deterring academic dishonesty misconduct

Technology-enhanced Learning

  • Provide an inclusive curriculum aligned to the equality, diversity and inclusion charter

  • Promote ethical considerations in the use of education technology

  • Commit to Academic Integrity, defining guidelines for preventing, detecting and deterring academic dishonesty misconduct

Learning for Employability & Social Impact

  • Shape curricula and assessments with input from enterprise, key societal actors and stakeholders to foster employability through innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship

  • Develop work-ready graduates with a career-focused mindset via embedding employability and work-integrated learning initiatives

Want to see how these principles are implemented in our programmes?

Teaching & Learning Innovation

Initiatives and professional development for academic staff to embed sustainability into their pedagogy and methods.

Blended Intensive Programmes

Short, collaborative learning programmes combining virtual teamwork and short-term physical mobility.

Degree Programmes

Discover our joint degrees co-developed by at least three EU GREEN partners and aligned with sustainability and SDGs.

Minor in Sustainability

An interdisciplinary certificate programme open to all bachelor students, focused on real-world sustainability challenges.

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