Being a generation of students growing up in a world that is greatly affected by human-induced climate change and related challenges, it is crucial we receive sufficient education on how these topics impact our field of study.

Maastricht University wants to contribute to a more sustainable future with its education, research and operations. This vision is guided by the goal of stimulating the integration of sustainability into programmes and courses UM wide. The Maastricht Science Programme (MSP), part of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, is therefore presented with the opportunity to be at the cutting edge of educating the scientists and researchers that our future demands.

As a group of MSP students, we became interested in the possibility of integrating sustainability in the MSP curriculum and organised a brainstorm with interested students, alumni and Educational Programme Committee (EPC) members. We discussed integrating various aspects of sustainability into existing courses, as well as the introduction of entirely new courses and practicals to enrich the current curriculum.

With a broad overview in mind, we then introduced this initiative to professors and course coordinators from different disciplines, which helped us refine the ideas we had. We also met with the Dean of MSP, Prof Dr. Leon Claessens, to pitch the ideas at this early stage. The following report is therefore based on the discussions we have had over the last few months with the intention of creating a constructive approach to truly integrating sustainability in the MSP curriculum.