Project No.: 2020-014-3-050
Start Date: 1 Sep 2020
Division: Committee on Chemistry Education
https://iupac.org/project/2020-014-3-050
Chemistry, as the material basis of society and sustainability, has a very important role in attaining the upcoming 2030 targets for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). In order to reach these targets, the basic sciences need to work together and use a systems thinking approach. This project aims to facilitate that by incorporating systems thinking into three main coherent strands: sustainability, formal chemistry education, and chemical industry.
Sustainability
This project task force will focus on the role of chemistry as a key consideration in attaining the UNSDGs. This group will build on the progress of the completed Systems Thinking in Chemistry Education (STICE) project and strengthen connections among the basic sciences, with the focus of contributing to the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development (IYBSSD) 2022. This strand of the project will be led by task group members with expertise in systems thinking, education for sustainable development, green and sustainable chemistry education, and membership in the Young Global Alliance.
Formal Chemistry Education
This project proposes to coordinate, evaluate, and publicize steps to articulate the essential characteristics of systems thinking in chemistry education to outline the ways it can support educators in using and assessing student outcomes from other pedagogical approaches. This subgroup will work with the Committee on Chemistry Education (CCE) to formulate IUPAC recommendations for the use of STICE. Project efforts in this area will be guided by a subgroup of the task force with expertise in systems thinking, chemistry education research, curriculum development and dissemination, assessment, web site development and deployment, and accreditation of chemistry programs. These activities will be carried out with the specific goal of strengthening the contributions of formal chemistry education to sustainability science and to meeting global sustainability goals such as the UNSDGs, thus supporting activities undertaken in the sustainability strand.
Chemical Industry
This subgroup will work with the Committee on Chemistry and Industry (COCI) to explore (a) how chemical industry may be able to contribute to the IYBSSD, emphasizing the central role of industry in the translation of basic sciences into sustainable products and services, (b) how industrial perspectives can be incorporated into chemistry education to support the needs of industry and sustainability goals, and ( c) the potential for mechanisms to increase the capacity of industry to incorporate systems thinking in ways that embrace and extend principles of existing initiatives such as Responsible Care, Green and Sustainable Chemistry and the Circular Economy to reinforce the overall goal of sustainability. The work in this Strand will be led by COCI members and informed by task group participants with expertise in systems thinking, green and sustainable chemistry applications in industry, chemistry education and experience with facilitating interface and dialogue with industry.