10 October 2020

Green education serves as a promising pathway to build a lucrative career. STEAM graduates (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics) can gain the most significant remuneration opportunities in the years ahead — particularly those graduates with sustainability know-how. 

According to the Institute of Arts Integration, STEAM education prepares students to take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration, and work through the creative process. 

As Albert Einstein once said, “To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.” Therefore, STEAM is a means (how) and sustainability is the end-in-mind (why) for ecological and environmental management. 

There are three main advantageous reasons for merging green education with STEAM programmes:

#1. Training Designed to Solve World Problems

Teaching students to develop software is useful. But what about a software application that prevents oil spills or the remote management of low-cost renewable energy infrastructure? 

Integrating green education in STEAM programmes enables students to work towards global goals. All school curriculums should feature real-life cases of the design process, technology application, and approaches used to preserve environmental and ecological systems. 

Employers are looking for people with sustainability know-how to meet up with regulations and stakeholders demands.Blackrock CEO Larry Fink warns that “companies that are insufficiently responsive to stakeholder and sustainability concerns will face increased scepticism and higher capital costs”.

#2. Opportunities in Green Technology: The Billion Euro Industry

Green technology serves to solve environmental issues through innovative solutions. Typical applications of green technology are artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to automate energy-efficient processes. Or the internet of things (IoT) technology, which helps to gain insights or monitor future patterns of energy conditions. 

GreenTech enables with the least waste of effort and resources the management of water, sanitation and renewable energy services. Motivated by financial incentives and environmental regulations, many corporations, especially those in the business of utility, energy and manufacturing, consistently source and invest for more sustainable methods to operate. 

Green education could prepare for a range of lucrative job possibilities in many other industries, including healthcare, transportation, agriculture, and consumer products. Just take in the numbers: In 2018, the global green technology market was valued at 5.77 billion euros. By 2026, GreenTech is projected to reach 30 billion euro. 

#3. Tried-and-Tested Sustainability Tools

Sustainability is an initiative and a set of actions that manage the preservation of three primary factors – economic, environmental and social. We must balance these three factors in equal harmony to achieve sustainable goals. 

The United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals are at the forefront of all sustainability frameworks and serve to address the global challenges we all face. Other popular sustainability tools and practices that could inspire or inform students on sustainable STEAM projects are:

Biomimicry: a method that learns from nature and mimics biology to solve human design challenges. 

Circular Economy: a regenerative economic model that enables recycling waste and restores materials in use. 

SymbioCity: a model and tool for sustainable urban development.

There are so many more sustainability tools, and practices taught in green education to inspire students to design economic-environmental viable solutions. 

The application of green educational programmes drives sustainable development. We mustteach STEAM subjects along with sustainability practices to apply greater social responsibility, balance revenue, and raise profits. Students miss out on the opportunity of capitalising from the sustainability revolution if we disregard the potentials of green education.  

The only solution to provide a better, clean and pure environment to the future generation is to prepare students for future-proof careers steadfastly. 

About the author

Rita Isiba is the founder of Aphropean Partners and Frontiers of Dialogue Forum in Austria. She is also an Associate Partner of Funkensprung, a chain of hubs for creativity, entrepreneurship and networking scattered across Vienna. As an engagement specialist, trainer and facilitator, she supports organisations with a need to prepare for international business development assignments with a focus on Africa and Europe. Rita Isiba resides in Vienna with her partner and daughter. She is also active on LinkedIn, where she shares her views of organisational culture and business trends impacting growth.

Sources

Allied Market Research, Biomimicry, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, SymbioCity