doLLAr ACAdemy BSA BLoG – SUStAiNABiLity iN SChooLS

doLLAr ACAdemy SUStAiNABiLity iN SChooLS

Ian Munro Rector Dollar Academy

the 2021 United Nations Climate

Change Conference

(Cop26) in Glasgow shone a spotlight on sustainability for all sectors, including education. dollar Academy takes issues of sustainability very seriously and, in may 2021, introduced a ground-breaking learning platform with these issues at the core: FidA – the Futures institute at dollar Academy.

What is fidA?

FidA is an open-access education platform that empowers young people to learn in new ways, through innovative courses, workshops, design challenges and competitions. to date, more than 550 young people and teachers from across Scotland have taken part, either in person and / or via an online platform to enable the widest possible participation.

FidA courses and projects share three key characteristics: • they are rooted in at least one of the

UN Sustainable development Goals. • they require pupils to think creatively and draw upon different areas of knowledge and learning in order to solve real-world problems. • they are co-designed and delivered with experts from industry and universities to ensure that the topics covered truly reflect current realworld issues.

Why create fidA?

the launch of FidA was a significant step for dollar Academy and a way for us to tackle three key aims. Firstly, rather than being a noisy bystander, we wanted to play an active role in the national debate about curricular reform by creating new types of courses and challenges that deal with real world issues in direct partnership with industry and academia. our second aim was to probe sustainability issues and opportunities. We recognise that we are living through a climate crisis, so each FidA course is linked back to the UN SdGs. Finally, we wanted to do our bit in closing the attainment gap by providing equitable and free access to all of our materials.

there is a move towards education models like FidA in numerous countries around the world. When it comes to the complicated global problems that we face, climate change and the wider issues of sustainability being key examples, academics and industry leaders tell us that at least some of the solutions will come from breaking down subject silos. this has serious implications for how we educate our pupils, with the importance of groupbased interdisciplinary working becoming more prominent.

yWe were delighted that Professor Ken muir, the independent advisor to the Scottish Government on the replacement of the Scottish Qualifications Authority, publicly endorsed FidA in may 2022:

FIDA’ s bold approach to education places the student experience at the centre, providing critical opportunities to engage with industry and stakeholders beyond the classroom.This aligns closely with some of the recommendations I made in my report to the Scottish Government on a future vision for Scottish education and I am highly impressed with what the initiative aims to do.

Why is it important that we get school pupils engaged?

young people are citizens of the world and will feel the impact of climate change during their entire lives. We must help them become informed and empowered to take positive action. Pupils today have a great social and environmental conscience and want to make the world better in so many ways - they can be powerful change” makers and should be supported to do so. What’s next? New ways of working demand new kinds of learning space; and we ambitious new building – the Futures institute – which will become are planni a physical ng an home for FidA at the heart of the dollar Academy campus. the building has been designed by globally renowned architect, and former dollar pupil, Andrew Whalley oBe. Andrew is the current Chairman of GrimShAW, and the architect behind many award-winning projects, including the eden Project in Cornwall. his input has ensured that our new building will be one of the most sustainable in the world. you can learn more about FidA here and plans for the new building here