The Environmental Sustainability at York Interdisciplinary Modules (ESAY YIMs) team came together as a collaborative group to develop a suite of modules which provide all York students with the opportunity to learn about and work together on sustainability challenges. Responding to the need for an interdisciplinary approach to solving key sustainability challenges, the team created new institutional structures and approaches to teaching which allow the modules to sit outside of academic departments and are, therefore, open and accessible to students from all disciplines.
The York Interdisciplinary Modules (YIMs) engage students in topics such as the future of food, sustainability policy and the climate crisis. Contributing to the institutional vision to be a University for the Public Good, the modules allow students to interact with key external partners on sustainability issues. One of the modules has been developed into a Sustainability Clinic through which students work with local and regional organisations, government, community groups, charities or businesses to help them find a solution to or better understand a real-life sustainability problem that matters to them.
The team’s commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration, distributed leadership, collaboration with students and partnership working have been significant factors in the value, impact, reach and success of their work. This has allowed them to create empowering, accessible new opportunities for students from across the institution, establish a blueprint for truly interdisciplinary teaching, develop new structures which promote interactions between students and local communities, and create staff career development opportunities.
Their work has made significant progress in breaking down siloed thinking and in promoting impactful academic and student engagement with partners beyond the institution. Most valuable is the impact on University of York students who have had the chance to engage in challenging, positive learning experiences which will benefit their future careers and the future of sustainability.