EAIR Forum Cork 2024

Practical information

Track 2: Innovation in Teaching and Learning and sustainable professional practice

Track Chairs:  Professor Paul McSweeney, Professor Matt O’Leary

The world is changing. Our society, environment, economy, and labour markets are transforming at a rapid pace, and this has been further accelerated by the impact of global pandemics and of changing climate and migration patterns. Higher Education has been identified as a key actor in ensuring progress towards many of the targets outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals. The path towards a sustainable future requires curricula that are attuned and responsive to local and global challenges while being inclusive of all learners. This can be realised through implementing teaching and learning approaches that cultivate the knowledge, dispositions, and skills amongst graduates to empower them to take action in response to an uncertain and increasingly complex world.
 
This vision for teaching and learning brings us closer to the Brundtland definition of sustainable development where we aspire to “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundltland, 1987). It requires us to move beyond disciplinary silos, to implement innovative teaching approaches that foster sustainability, to cultivate and recognise innovative practices amongst staff, and that we partner with a broader array of stakeholders. It requires that the organisation and enactment of learning and teaching be considerate of these broader contexts and that we work to ensure a more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable model of Higher Education.
 
This track addresses questions such as:
  • How might disciplinary contexts inform and shape how sustainability is interpreted and enacted and the consequent impact on emerging graduates.
  • How can sustainability be embedded in the curriculum?
  • How can the strategic development of teaching and learning practices anticipate and respond to future requirements?
  • What strategies for professional development and sustainability of innovative teaching and learning practices are required, at macro, meso and micro levels?
  • How sustainable are established concepts and norms of good practice in teaching and learning innovation?
 
Brundtland, G.H., 1987. Our common future: development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. World Commission on Environment and Development [WCED].

This track is chaired by:

Professor Paul McSweeney


Professor Matt O’Leary

Track Details

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Sustainable Travel Ideas for the EAIR Cork Forum

Travelling from Europe

Visitors from Europe can travel via Eurostar from Paris to London and from there by train to Wales and by boat to Dublin. Travellers can then take the train or bus to Cork. Alternatively, there is a daily boat connection from Roscoff or Calais (in Northern France) directly to Ringaskiddy, Cork.  

Link for Direct Ferries: https://www.directferries.ie/

Travelling from the UK

There are ways to travel to and from Ireland without flying, as there are train and bus services that link with ferry services across the Irish Sea which connect several ports in England, Wales and Scotland with Irish ferry ports of Rosslare, Dublin or Belfast with ongoing travel by car, bus or train. 

Cross County Rail Services

Where taking a flight is necessary, attendees are encouraged to consider direct flights to Ireland (Cork, Dublin) airports and to use cross country rail services where a direct flight to Cork is not possible.

Link for Irish rail: https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/

Travel options in Cork

Cork is a city where active travel options are both available and encouraged – walking and cycling.  Visitors to Cork City can get a 3 day TFI bike subscription.

Link to TFI Bike Subscription: https://www.bikeshare.ie/pricing-and-subscriptions.html

All accommodation options and EAIR Forum venues in Cork can be accessed easily by foot. 

Offsetting Travel Emissions

Forum attendees are invited to offset the unfavourable impact of air travel by combining attendance at the Cork forum with other meetings in Ireland, the UK and Europe. 

Forum attendees who wish to consider sustainable travel options may also wish to combine their attendance at the Cork EAIR Forum with their annual holiday and by so doing minimise the number of air flights taken in 2024.