Education for Sustainable Development Working Group

Our objective is to ensure that every student is aware of the University’s commitment to sustainability and is equipped with the knowledge and skills to make their own contribution to a sustainable future.

The Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Working Group is built around the interests, needs and ambitions of our students.  We aim to initiate, coordinate and support the implementation of activities to educate and enable students to make their own contribution to a sustainable future.

We will develop learning experiences aimed at improving student’s knowledge and understanding of sustainability, as well as giving them the skills and perspectives important for sustainable development.

We also provide opportunities for students to start their own sustainable development projects and initiatives and join existing activities here at The University, around Liverpool,  throughout England, and internationally.

Chair of the Education for Sustainable Development Working Group
Dr Matt Murphy - Senior Lecturer in Engineering Design

Matt Murphy is a Senior Lecturer in Engineering Design, and Director of Education, in the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Liverpool. He is a metallurgist by background, with a PhD and 12-year technical research career in the additive manufacture (3D printing) of metals.

For the last 14 years, Matt has concentrated primarily on learning and teaching and has held several leadership positions in the School of Engineering, with special responsibility for curricular and pedagogic reform. Matt teaches a range of courses in design, materials science and manufacturing, but most enjoys leading the group design project modules.

In addition to his teaching, he establishes and supervises a broad range of student projects in fields such as energy from waste, urban farming, sustainable energy transport, veterinary healthcare, circular economy, and the hyperlocal recycling of thermoplastics.

In recent years Matt has focused on developing authentic learning and assessment experiences, in partnership with industry, that seeks to replicate professional practice within undergraduate programmes. Matt is Chair of the University Education for Sustainable Development Working Group; has been a collaborator in the CDIO Initiative (cdio.org) for 16 years, and a member of its International Governing Council for 12 years.