Sustainability, emergence and the graduate attribute of global citizenship

Sustainability, emergence and the graduate attribute of global citizenship

Universities have an another valuable role in enabling sustainability besides their research capacity. We are interested in their role as risk taking institutions, because we see risk as a pre-condition for sustainability. This paper will explore the relationship between sustainability, emergence, universities and a high level graduate attribute – global citizenship. We will explore this relationship by proposing a model that frames the theory of sustainability as a quality that emerges from a system. Emergence occurs from unmanaged multiple actions at the local scale and is more likely to occur in environments with greater risk and diversity. Emergence is only identified from the scale above where actions are taking place, so an emergent model of sustainability emphasises the space and interaction between the scales of action and observation. Australian universities play an important role in this space between the scales. They are both actor and observer, and trainers of the present and future actors and observers. By choosing to have higher level graduate attributes like leadership and global citizenship, universities are taking a risk in selecting and advocating for the attributes they think our future thinkers and leaders should have. We present the research design and some preliminary data that aims to determine if the global citizenship graduate attribute can serve as an example of universities' engagement between the scales to help create a sustainable future.