Sustainable Development Goals in online learning: action research for enhanced graduate skills at SOAS University of London

This chapter reflects on action research for the inclusion of sustainability and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in online programs as social innovation in practice conducted at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London, seeking to address the question: How may higher education institutions ensure that knowledge and understanding of the SDGs are embedded as a graduate skill in curricula across disciplines for online postgraduate distance learning programmes? Academics from a range of disciplines across SOAS joined this project as participatory action researchers, focusing on how to make changes in their curricula to incorporate learning and teaching about SDGs. This chapter shares and reflects on the experiences of the participants. The action research illustrates how peer interactions led to shared understandings of, and strategies for inclusion of, SDGs in curricula, leading to continuous improvement and the addressing of bureaucratic and systemic obstacles.