The SDGs Design School

The SDGs Design School is part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Design Unit, Kyushu University. Formed in 2019, using design education as a platform, the SDGs Design School aims to create greater awareness in the general public on the importance of the SDGs. We hope to nurture people who will take actions and contribute to making society and the world a better place to live. This project also aims to develop new educational approaches and content to nurture our future generation with the ability to respond to diverse needs and changes in society.

The SDGs Design School hopes to work with schools and community groups to understand and address social issues in various areas such as education, health, social protection, job opportunities, climate change and environmental protection and revitalization, etc.

As an educational approach, in the SDGs Design School’s programs involves the understanding of issues related to SDGs and applying Design Thinking to derived practical or speculative solutions. During the process of Co-Designing between the teacher and students, the SDGs Design School educational programs will aim to develop students with 21st Century skills such as critical and creative thinking, communication skills; and Social-Emotional Learning skills.

In the development of SDGs Design School educational programs, we will focus on a five-stage process: Pilot project – Project evaluation – Educational package development – Open Source – Research. We will want to work with schools or community groups to pilot projects and then, evaluating the projects through focus group meetings. The evaluation will help to refine and improve the educational programs. This process will eventually evolve into a feasible model for SDGs education. All educational programs will be uploaded as educational packages on the website as open-source for public use and to gather further feedback that will help to refine the education packages continuously. The educational packages include curriculum, lesson plans, tools for student and teacher, and reference materials. In order to contribute to the academic knowledge-based, any studies related to the development of the educational programs will be published as research papers and conference presentations.

Schools and community groups who are interested in collaborating with us, please email us at sdgs@design.kyushu-u.ac.jp.