I am a big fan of self development especially for a field like sustainability; I believe people need to keep learning best practices and current trends to stay relevant.
A couple of weeks ago, I applied and enrolled for an online course on Sustainable Development, developed by Futurenvironments Ltd, a Nigerian organisation with affiliations to knowledge partners in the United Kingdom. The course was still in its pilot testing phase and I was privileged to help facilitate the process via publicity and also joined the first twenty people who took the course for free!
The e-course tagged- “Sustainable Development Fundamentals” involved four modules which include: Global Realities, Ideals, Opportunities and Action Plan. And they are all relevant concepts of sustainability.
I had an interesting time taking this course, I got updates on my application about 48 hours after I applied and the course took me about three weeks to take. Ideally, this course should take less than two weeks to complete. I was required to obtain a pass mark of 70% and above but I got 98%. I say but because I was aiming for 100%!! 🙂
The entire process was worthwhile and the interface completely efficient and user –friendly. I could easily tell that a lot of research went into the development of this course, as it provided me with facts and data which are very key in any sustainability education process.
Through the course platform, Futurenvironments aims to unlock economic development opportunities that are not only eco-friendly but also socially relevant in ways that promote sustainable development in the country. The course is launched under the Global to Local Solutions (G2LS) programme, a Futurenvironments-led initiative aimed at upskilling individuals to deliver projects starting from Nigeria, West Africa and in collaboration with interested private and public partners.
Who should take this course?
This course is great for any Nigerian who wants to learn about sustainable development. It is ideal for recent graduates or even undergraduates seeking some form of training in the sustainability sector.
Postgraduates with interests in planet prosperity and sustainable economic structures for Nigeria are also welcome to try the course; or even postgraduates with a passion to adding significant value to local environments without re-inventing the wheel or creating avoidable conflicts; youth corps members that are keen to gather refined knowledge, sharpen their skills and make a tactful entry into the business world; political analysts and other multi-disciplinary professionals that are new to the practical concept of sustainable development, amongst many others.
The Future Environment Vision
Emmanuel Taiwo, the Project Manager for the G2LS Initiative in Nigeria is really big on capacity building for sustainable development. Having built years of expertise training Nigerian youths on environmental stewardship and advising corporate executives on corporate sustainability and social responsibility, he believes that by using an entirely 100% online platform which allows for learning flexibility, the Sustainable Development Fundamentals e-course heralds a new dawn for widespread knowledge transfer and enlightenment on sustainable development issues in Nigeria. “At Futurenvironments, we equip people with basic knowledge of holistic economic, environmental, and social sustainability; and then we provide avenues to demonstrate understanding of the concepts through projects. There’s no better way yet, to kickstart a professional journey in the field of sustainable development in Nigeria and Africa.” he says.
Upon receiving applications from over 50 people in 3 days, about 20 young Nigerians were enrolled on the first pilot of the course, which started in April this year. Those who successfully passed the course are now rounding up on the first set of voluntary projects with Futurenvironments. Through these projects, course participants who successfully completed the course are able to apply some of the key sustainable development concepts which they have learned from the course in real projects bothering on using global sustainability best practices to identify and craft solutions for local development problems. Hence, the name Global to Local Solutions (G2LS). Participants in G2LS projects have testified about how the course has deepened their understanding of sustainable development, and how they have acquired key soft skills from the projects. Indeed, the course has set the stage for employability for the course participants, many of whom enrolled on the course with little or no knowledge of sustainable development.
Having closed out the first pilot, the second pilot of the course was launched in mid-June and in the coming weeks, the Sustainable Development Fundamentals e-course would be launched in full. What this means is that businesses will be able to sponsor an unlimited number of people to participate in the course per time and successful users would be able to gain work experience with pay in certain projects.
For more information and enquiries please visit the Futurenvironments website