Crossing Boundaries

Education is the keystone to the vision of worldwide sustainable development.

Higher education plays a particular role in the context of sustainable development: it has a major influence on the way in which future generations in positions of responsibility will deal with the complex demands they will face as a result of globalisation and world trade, problems with poverty and the environment and development.

This book focuses on competence-based learning for sustainable development in higher education and the design of appropriate learning environments. To contribute effectively to sustainable development, university graduates should have the competence to communicate and collaborate across the traditional boundaries of e.g. discipline, nation, or culture. Important ingredients of competence-based learning environments for sustainable development are therefore cross-boundary contexts and group work. Electronic learning environments (ELEs), employing modern information and communication technology, are well-suited as they allow time and place independent communication and collaboration between internationally distributed teams of students at low cost. This book brings together more than a decade of experience in the development and use of such learning environments. These are described in an open and concrete manner, to be of practical use to a wide audience of practitioners in higher education for sustainability.