Malmö, 2023

To whom it may concern at Malmö University;
To Vice-Chancellor Kerstin Tham,

In the scope of Climate Action Week (CAW) 2023, all signatories demand action as described in the following to be taken within the University and immediate attention to be directed toward environmental sustainability in all aspects of education at Malmö University.

With Climate Action Week, we hope to highlight the importance and urgency of the climate crisis and how it affects everyone, from students to faculty at Malmö University. With this petition, we stress the importance and necessity of incorporating climate change into the curriculum of every educational programme, since the climate crisis impacts every aspect of our society.

We want every student to leave the university with an awareness and understanding of how the climate crisis will affect them and their field of work. This is required in order to legitimise the quality of education already provided and helps the students build resilience in regard to the uncertain future we currently face.

It is important to us as a student body that the university takes into account that climate anxiety is a real and potentially debilitating stressor with regard to the career prospects, as well as private and academic lives of the students. It is the university’s duty to equip all students with the tools necessary to handle said stressors in all aspects of their future.

We believe all professors from all faculties must be educated and kept up to date on current climate change developments and how their field of study is impacted by these developments. This could facilitate the ability to incorporate that knowledge into their respective curricula and engage in active conversations with their students about the connection of their fields with the climate crisis. Additionally, we see value in providing a mandatory course for students at the beginning of every programme, teaching basic and up-to-date concepts of the climate crisis to then build upon in the following semester(s).

We, as the Climate Action Week organising committee, are willing and eager to assist in further defining what those programmes and educational projects could look like and in streamlining the incorporation into all programmes at Malmö University if such support is needed.

Malmö University needs to take its responsibility as an educational institution to foster a supportive environment where students can contribute to meaningful change in all aspects of sustainable development. We also believe that this presents a great opportunity for Malmö University to lead by example, together with a select few others, and inspire other institutions internationally as a pioneer. But for this to become a reality, all signatories hereby demand an education process for the entire teaching faculty of Malmö University and the prompt integration of the climate crisis into all curricula by Autumn Semester 2024.

Sincerely,Climate Action Week committee
and all signatories as listed below