As the material basis of society and sustainability, chemistry has a compelling role to play as the world approaches 2030, the target date for attaining the UNSDGs. This project builds on the momentum and success of the recent systems thinking in chemistry education (STICE) research to guide an interwoven program of work to extend systems thinking into three coherent strands focused on (a) sustainability, (b) formal chemistry education, and (c) chemical industry. An important motivation for the project will be to support and facilitate a strong chemistry contribution to the 2022 International Year of Basic Sciences for Development (IYBSD 2022).
This project is financially supported by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
The project objectives are:
(1) Highlight and support chemistry education’s contributions to strengthening the centrality of chemistry as a sustainability science, engaging with IYBSD 2022 to incorporate systems thinking (ST) as a fundamentally important approach to support integrating human needs and science in the service of planetary sustainability.
(2) Formulate recommendations to guide use of ST in chemistry education; and establish and maintain for at least the duration of the project a website to facilitate uptake.
(3) Initiate discussions with COCI to explore (a) ways chemical industry can contribute to outcomes of the IYBSD, (b) ways chemical industry views systems thinking and its incorporation into chemistry education, and (c) the potential for mechanisms to increase the capacity of industry to incorporate ST.
