Application of New Approaches in Teaching Earth Sciences

In view of unprecedented negative changes threatening safe existence of the humankind and taking place in all parts of the Earth system, decisive and rapid measures are needed to reduce vulnerability, which had been manifested in the Sustainable Development Goals which are intended to be achieved by the year 2030.

Despite numerous efforts in the field of combating climate and environmental change on planet Earth, negative trends leading to degradation of the planet persist to grow, which can be explained by many reasons such as lack of awareness of the threat that the humankind faces in the business community and the society, lack of flexibility in the response of the countries’ economies to the challenges of the time, weak ties between science, education and the economy.

In order to eliminate the above-mentioned causes and provide for society's transition to sustainable development, it is necessary to lay the foundations for a new type of education that would make it possible to arrive at continuous education in the field of Earth Sciences based on the principles of environmental law and sustainable development, with interdisciplinary interaction and cooperation of science, education and economics taken account of. The training should use a variety of modern educational tools to reach the widest range of target groups and promote climate and environmental literacy in the society.

Since the existing education system is not able to respond in a timely manner to the new challenges of the time, introduction of a new type of education requires setting up a completely new educational structure - a center of excellence - which, due to a number of advantages, compared to traditional university structures, meets modern demands in the field of education and being a multi-level, dynamic and flexible system, could effeciently be adapted to the pressing needs of the time to provide the entire range of educational servicesm, long-term to short-term courses, up to micro-learning, for various target groups and is able to function under the conditions of dominant inter- and transdisciplinarity.

Under the new conditions that the world has been facing since 2020, in order to facilitate access to educational resources, development of networked on-line study programmes, with involvement of world-class experts in work on educational courses and mutual learning, which significantly expands dissemination and tools for societal impact, the center of excellence is to feature a virtual scientific-and-educational IT platform. The Center of Excellence is to play the role of a consultuncy board, which will provide for transfer of knowledge in a targeted manner, in the form that is the most agreeable for the end-user and therefore is the most attractive to entice a wide range of stakeholders.

Due to the unique geographical location, as well as the accumulated scientific and educational potential in the field of Earth Sciences, Odessa State Environmental University proposes setting up a Center of Excellence in the Field of Earth Sciences and offers cooperation to all interested parties.