The Student Futures Academy provides pathways that elevate and celebrate Science and Engineering students in preparation for their future beyond their course through industry endorsed skill sets and collaborative projects designed to build agency, self-efficacy, critical reflection and advocacy.

UNESCO cross-cutting and specialized SDG competencies

• Systems thinking: The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty.
• Anticipatory: The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes.
• Normative: The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate sustainability values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interests and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions.
• Strategic: The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield.
• Collaboration: The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving.
• Critical thinking: The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions; and to take a position in the sustainability discourse.
• Self-awareness: The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires.
• Integrated problem-solving: The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the abovementioned competences.

How this works

To complete the Student Futures Academy and become a Future Leader you must:

• Complete the three required skills development in this self-study pack. You can do this by completing enough points of the suggested activities and submitting evidence of this completion.
• Complete the final project, you will be invited to take part in this project after completing the three skill development steps.
• Timeline?
• Next steps