Sustainable Development Planning: Master’s Based on a Project-Based Learning Approach

Adolfo Cazorla-Montero, Ignacio de los Ríos-Carmenado and Juan Ignacio Pasten
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Adolfo Cazorla-Montero: Planning and Sustainable Management of Rural-Local Development (GESPLAN), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avda Puerta de Hierro 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Ignacio de los Ríos-Carmenado: Planning and Sustainable Management of Rural-Local Development (GESPLAN), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avda Puerta de Hierro 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Juan Ignacio Pasten: Planning and Sustainable Management of Rural-Local Development (GESPLAN), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avda Puerta de Hierro 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 22, 1-23

Abstract: The educational subject of Sustainable Development Planning in Europe is evolving due to the implementation of the Bologna Agreement across the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This paper analyses a project-based learning strategy for training Sustainable Development Planning in postgraduate programs, in Spain (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM). This project-based learning strategy is applied to an International Postgraduate Program for Sustainable Rural Development—Erasmus Mundus, Master’s of Science—with the participation of five European Union universities that formed the Agris Mundus Alliance for Sustainable Development. Using a mixed methods approach, the research examined the program’s implementation through student and staff perceptions, from the technical, behavioral and contextual project management skills. The paper argues that the “Practical Learning platforms” used in the Master’s demonstrate the correct approach of the learning strategy based on teaching–research linked to the professional sphere. The findings that were identified can be categorized as follows: (1) Perspective: holistic thinking and intellectual coherence, defining the contextual skills that must be navigated within and across the broader environment, (2) Practice: experiential learning by reconnecting to real-life situations, and (3) People: Personal and interpersonal skills required to succeed in sustainable projects, programs and portfolios. Reflections on the experience and main success factors in the learning strategy are discussed.

Keywords: rural development; Bologna Agreement; project management; sustainable development; sustainability competencies; transdisciplinary sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:22:p:6384-:d:286601

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