Faced with the urgent need to educate students about today's major challenges, such as climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss, the University of Montpellier is actively committed to an ambitious and multidimensional training policy focused on ecological transition, led by the Vice-Presidency for Training and University Life and the Vice-Presidency for Environmental Issues.
This policy and the resulting action plan are based on the report by Jean Jouzel and Luc Abbadie, Raising awareness and providing training on the challenges of ecological transition and sustainable development in higher education, and on the Climate, Biodiversity, and Ecological Transition Plan for ESR.
To achieve this goal, the institution has chosen to integrate the Ecological Transition dimension into its teaching in various ways: dedicated degrees, specific teaching units, and the integration of the Ecological Transition for Sustainable Development (TEDS) into the teaching of various courses. It has also supported the deployment of technological demonstrators to develop practical workshops that are essential for students, future professionals, and citizens of tomorrow to acquire knowledge and skills in TEDS.
The TEDS teaching unit for undergraduate students
On the recommendation of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research MESR), the institution has set up specific teaching units dedicated to ecological transition and aimed at allundergraduate students: the TEDS teaching units. The aim is to raise awareness among allundergraduate students, regardless of their field of study, of issues related to TEDS and thus to contribute to the dissemination of the culture of ecological transition within society and the socio-economic world.
The topics taught focus on four areas:
- Climate change, including mitigation and adaptation
- Biodiversity and its preservation
- Resources and their availability
- Just transition and social equity
In order to ensure that the proposed ECTS credits best meet the specific requirements of each degree program, whose content, depending on the field, natively incorporates ecological transition issues to a greater or lesser extent, the institution has chosen to offer departments, schools, and institutes several complementary implementation options:
- Use of the TEDS-UM digital teaching unit created and offered by the institution
- Creation by departments, schools, and institutes of TEDS teaching units tailored to their specific characteristics and needs
- Creation by academic departments, schools, and institutes of TEDS teaching units based on existing courses.
Integrating TEDS into training courses
Beyond its specific educational offerings dedicated to ecological transition for undergraduate students, the University is committed to educating its students as broadly as possible on the challenges of ecological transition for sustainable development in all areas of education. With this in mind, the institution is pursuing a policy of integrating TEDS into its various educational programs.
In practical terms, this approach can take several forms: dedicated teaching units within a course, issues addressed from an "ecological transition" perspective, analysis of the ecological impacts of certain activities, case studies focused on ecological transition, integration of sustainable solutions into projects, etc. The aim is to develop a cross-disciplinary approach that links TEDS to different disciplines.
Ultimately, the aim is to equip every student with the knowledge, skills, and tools they need to apply these concepts in their future careers, whatever their field of expertise, and to prepare them to become citizens who are aware of environmental issues. In this way, this initiative contributes to the training of professionals and citizens who are committed to preserving our planet in their daily lives.
Training courses related to TEDS at UM
With eight faculties, seven institutes, three schools, and one component institution, the University of Montpellier offers multidisciplinary programs covering the major fields of law, economics, management, political and social sciences, science, technology, and health, providing students with a variety of programs tailored to their interests and professional goals.
Across this range of courses, more and more programs are incorporating modules dedicated to ecological transition. Some courses are even entirely devoted to these issues at bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels, in national and institutional degrees, across all fields covered by the institution.
For example, here are a few degrees dedicated to ecological transition in various fields:
- Professional degree in energy management, electricity, and sustainable development (Montpellier University Institute of Technology)
- Professional Bachelor's Degree – Study and Development of Natural Areas (Faculty of Science)
- Master's degree in law and environmental and sustainable development management(UFR D & SP)
- Master's degree in Environmental Economics (UFR Eco)
- Master's degree in ecological transition and circular economy management (MOMA)
- Master's Degree in Environmental Management (Faculty of Science)
- University degree in green finance (UFR éco)
- University degree in law, sea, and coastline (UFR D &SP)
- University degree in environmental management and sustainable development (SFC)
- European Diploma on Global Challenges for Sustainable Development (Charm-EU)
- Executive MBA in Circular Economy and Ecological and Energy Transition (MOMA)
- Economic assessment and adaptation to climate change (UFR éco)
For more information, explore our training catalog.
