The HEA ESD Self-Evaluation Tool is a voluntary, developmental resource that supports higher education institutions in reviewing and strengthening whole-of-institution Education for Sustainable Development. It helps institutions undertake structured reflection on current strengths, gaps and progression, identify local priorities and plan practical next steps.
The tool is organised around the five ESD to 2030 Priority Action Areas. For each area, it provides developmental descriptors across three broad stages of practice: Emerging, Established and Leading. It is intended to support dialogue, planning and quality enhancement.
This resource sets out five strategic enablers that can support the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development across all areas of a higher education institution:
1. Collaboration and commitment
2. Holistic and transformational practice, scholarship and leadership
3. Capacity-building and professional development
4. Student partnership, engagement and leadership
5. Reciprocal learning communities
The Enablers translate national and international ESD commitments into shared language, strategic direction and practical prompts for higher education. They address curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, campus operations, governance, leadership, professional learning, student partnership, research and reciprocal engagement with communities.
The resource is designed to support institutional reflection, planning and enhancement rather than prescribe a single model. It recognises institutional autonomy, diversity of mission and disciplinary differences.
This overview introduces the Higher Education Authority’s Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Framework for Higher Education: a connected suite of resources supporting whole-of-institution ESD across Irish higher education. It explains the Framework’s purpose, its relationship to national and international ESD priorities, and how its component resources work together to provide strategic direction, sector evidence, structured reflection, thematic insight and opportunities for peer learning.
The Framework connects curriculum, campus operations, governance, research and community engagement. It is intended for institutional leaders, educators, professional staff, students and representative bodies, ESD and sustainability leads, teaching and learning units, quality and enhancement teams, community partners and policy stakeholders.
This resource showcases initiatives from both academic and professional support areas across DCU, which have been funded under SATLE – the Strategic Alignment of Teaching and Learning Enhancement Funding in Higher Education. Examples are provided under the themes of Education for Sustainable Development, Digital transformation & Academic Integrity
This Podcast Series has been developed by CPID Staff involved in teaching and engaging in educational research. It consists of podcasts with well-known educational academics and experts, exploring various educational concepts/topics taught on programmes offered by the CPID, and on SATLE funded educational research projects.
The Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) Compendium of Embedding Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) showcases the University’s commitment to integrating sustainability across teaching, learning and assessment. It is the first compendium of its kind in an Irish higher education institution.
This landscape report provides an overview of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) practice across the higher education sector in Ireland. It draws together publicly available institutional strategies, HEA Performance Framework Agreements 2024–2028, Climate Action Roadmaps and ESD to 2030 progress reports to outline current approaches to embedding ESD.
Structured as a series of institutional case studies, the report highlights how ESD is being addressed across teaching and learning, research, engagement and whole-institution practice, and identifies opportunities for collaboration and shared learning across the sector.
This case study collection presents an interdisciplinary University College Dublin initiative exploring how key competencies for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can be embedded in higher education teaching, learning and assessment. It introduces UNESCO’s sustainability competencies alongside metacognitive development and the I-SEE learning strategies: Introducing, Signposting, Enabling and Evaluating.
Four detailed case studies demonstrate how these approaches have been applied in clinical nutrition and dietetics, education, rural placemaking and public health nutrition. Using student-centred, collaborative, action-oriented and critically reflective approaches, the case studies engage learners with authentic, real-world problems. Each includes information on its context, intended learning outcomes, teaching and assessment strategies, impact and practical lessons, demonstrating how ESD can be made relevant across a wide range of disciplines, including subjects not traditionally associated with sustainability.
These presentation slides, created and delivered by Dr Alex Ryan (Learning Energy) for the Advancing Quality and Leadership in Sustainable Higher Education workshop hosted by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), introduce the principles and practice of Anti-Greenwash Education within the context of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
The slides outline findings from the QAA-funded project Students Driving Curriculum Quality for Sustainability and provide a visual summary of how student-led approaches can strengthen transparency, quality, and credibility in sustainability education. They include key concepts, activity prompts, examples of course evaluation frameworks, and student feedback on applying ESD quality principles.
The workshop offered a structured overview of how institutions can embed authentic, evidence-based ESD across courses and policies, connecting workshop learning to wider sector priorities and the Government of Ireland’s ESD to 2030 Strategy.
This curated collection includes key materials, toolkits, and reports from the Anti-Greenwash Education initiative, developed to support quality, transparency, and integrity in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It provides direct access to the education kit, training resources, worked examples, film series, sector review, and action guidance, along with related reports and international frameworks informing current ESD policy and practice.
The resource is designed for students, course representatives, and staff engaged in sustainability education and quality enhancement. It connects practical learning tools with wider evidence on ESD trends, student demand for sustainability, and institutional quality frameworks, offering an overview of current developments in the field.
This resource was shared as part of the Advancing Quality and Leadership in Sustainable Higher Education workshop hosted by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and facilitated by Dr Alex Ryan. The workshop supported Irish higher education institutions in strategically implementing high-quality ESD in alignment with the Government of Ireland’s ESD to 2030 Strategy and the HEA’s ESD programme objectives.
Dr Ruth Hally received SATLE funding in 2023 to Document and Develop Community-engaged Learning (CEL) in the curriculum. She worked with four lecturers across UCC’s four Colleges to support them to embed CEL in existing modules. This video highlights work done with the UCC School of Applied Psychology.
This series of videos presents an abstract from the Croí process where individuals are guided to define their personal (or core) and professional values, and to identify actions they can take that will help them to develop a career that better aligns their personal and professional values and lives.
This report has been prepared for circulation across the Green-Campus Network, Higher Education Authority and the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. It can also act as a resource for individuals who are interested in ESD and sustainability.
This publication collects the posters shared at the 2023 Learning and Teaching Showcase at University College Cork, 5 December 2023. The posters are grouped into five themes: student engagement, inclusive teaching, academic integrity, digital education and education for sustainable development.
