Erasmus IP

The current Erasmus IP is coordinated by Szent István University, Faculty of Economics, Békéscsaba, Hungary.

The IP aims to promote responsible lifestyle education for those who will work with children, young people, and the wider community. The aims of the IP course can be briefly summarised as follows:

• to explore emerging policies within the European region related to sustainability education;
• to recognise social settings and institutions that provide wide access to understandings about sustainability;
• to develop skills in evaluation in order to be able to discern 'economic', 'technological', 'educational', 'health', 'social' and 'participation' dimensions within social and institutional settings that promote sustainability;
• to explore ways in which multidisciplinary responses in the field of sustainability can develop new understandings that support programme development in Higher Education;
• to ensure that students from different professional disciplines benefit from their interactions, are more informed about appropriate professional responses to sustainability and are themselves enthusiastic to participate in sustainability actions.

The IP brings together students from the disciplines of education, social work, economics and business. It also engages relevant social and economic enterprises with expertise in this field as learning partners.

Before the IP students conduct sustainability audits of institutions or social settings with respect to their sustainability profile. During the IP they present and share their findings with the other participants. Then they explore possible pathways towards alternative preferable personal, local and global futures. During the IP course students also review sustainability "success stories" from around the world.

These activities are complemented by local enquiries with support from local NGOs already engaged in facilitating participation in more sustainable lifestyles.