Dr Rehan Shah (SEMS) from QMUL and an international team of multi-disciplinary colleagues comprising Dr Anne Preston (Institute of Education) from University College London (UCL) and Dr Praveen Kumar (School of Habitat Studies) and Dr Neha Christie (School of Skill Education) from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India have been awarded one of four prestigious global HE Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Grants administered by The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU).

The funding will support three ACU member universities to embark on a one year virtual cross-institutional collaboration project entitled Inclusive Commonwealth Learning for Interdisciplinary Development and Education for Sustainability (INCLIDES), which aims to use inclusive pedagogy to enhance HE educators' understanding of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in interdisciplinary learning curricula. The project will develop a joint toolkit on practice-based research to evaluate the role and quality of SDGs in postgraduate education.

The interdisciplinary approach will feature collaborations with academic staff across the fields of Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy (SHAPE) and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in both countries. ESD is a priority in curriculum development in both India and the UK, with both countries having shared interests in innovating and integrating within interdisciplinary teaching, despite differences in how it is mandated.

A common gap exists in understanding the role of SHAPE subjects and how they contribute to ESD, particularly in areas like ecology and climate change. While STEM subjects have curricula addressing climate action and sustainable cities, students often struggle with topics like gender equality and reduced inequalities.

This project will employ inclusive pedagogical methodologies to design culturally responsive approaches, identifying and nurturing educators' cultural strengths to promote student learning through curriculum innovation. This co-creational effort (also featuring student researchers) aims to empower both educators and students to find personal connections to traditionally thought to be inaccessible areas within their disciplines.