Transforming Universities for Just and Sustainable Futures

Join the Leadership and Learning for Sustainability Lab and the McGill Sustainability Systems Initiative for a Lunch and Learn with Dr. Julia Wittmayer.

Event summary: Tackling today's urgent societal and ecological challenges requires a radical transformation of our universities. This seminar invites you to rethink the vital role that universities can play in driving these transformations. We will examine how the norms that govern our universities, the ways that we engage with wider communities, and our continuing struggles to work in truly interdisciplinary collaborations, continue to hamper universities’ potential to make significant contributions to societal transitions toward sustainability and justice. Using Erasmus University Rotterdam as a case study, the talk will explore how the Design Impact Transition (DIT) platform, as a strategic and innovative experimentation, is pioneering transformative research and education to redesign academic institutions.

Bio: Dr. Julia Wittmayer is an Associate Professor at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB) and a senior researcher at DRIFT (Dutch Research Institute for Transitions) and the Design Impact Transition (DIT) Platform. Her work centers on developing transdisciplinary research formats that generate critical knowledge and reflexive action on sustainability challenges, engaging both academic and societal actors. Dr. Wittmayer has been instrumental in shaping DRIFT (since 2011 as a social enterprise) and the DIT Platform (since 2021) as innovative institutions within Erasmus University Rotterdam. In this seminar, she will discuss their latest thinking and her recent publication, “Transforming universities: Mobilizing research and education for sustainability transitions at Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands."

The event will take place on McGill's downtown campus, the exact location to be confirmed before the event. Pizza will be served, registration is required.