Educating the next generation of thought leaders for urban climate and sustainability: lessons from an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master (EMJM) Action

Rapid anthropogenic climate change in an increasingly urbanised world urgently requires new professionals with a scientific understanding of urban climate and ability to work within the planning system to manage and lead sustainable change. Educational approaches able to achieve this in a comprehensive manner are missing at present. In this paper, lessons from an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master programme we have successfully run since 2017 (Master of Urban Climate and Sustainability) are presented with the aim to highlight the approaches where thematic integration is achieved in practice. The programme has successfully integrated three thematic areas: Science (urban climate, data visualisation, nature-based solutions); Planning (urban planning, circular economy in cities) and Management (change management, responsible leadership, sustainability championship). Such a multidisciplinary education challenges the representatives of different fields to consider novel ways of joint implementation. The approach is centred on student embedding in the practice of urban climate management through internships and placement as well as problem-based learning in modules and thesis projects. We report the experience of this approach in stakeholder engagement, knowledge exchange with research end users, contribution to policy development as well as from the students’ own perspectives on employability, entrepreneurship and future career needs. Methods of study include industry engagement, alumni survey, and policy engagement surveys to highlight the key challenges facing the creation of ‘new’ professionals able to lead and manage urban climate actions and highlight opportunities where the knowledge could be integrated with urban planning practice in the here and now. Lessons for higher learning as well as continuous professional development are explored in terms of content, approach and future research.