Carbon Literacy for Staff and Students
Join a community and help tackle climate change
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Everyone at Manchester Met has a role to play in reducing carbon emissions.
Carbon Literacy training offers the chance for learners not only to develop their understanding of how climate change works and what is causing it, but also to empower themselves to take meaningful action, as individuals, and as collectives through their community and professional lives. Becoming a certified Carbon Literate citizen is a significant step in making positive changes for yourself, for Manchester Met, and for the planet.
Carbon Literacy has stirred passion within me and has added purpose to how I live - if more people were educated on this subject, the more positive changes we will see. What a privilege that my university, Manchester Met, allowed my course to embark on this training. The benefits are endless, but the timing is urgent.
Carbon Literacy has stirred passion within me and has added purpose to how I live - if more people were educated on this subject, the more positive changes we will see. What a privilege that my university, Manchester Met, allowed my course to embark on this training. The benefits are endless, but the timing is urgent.
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For Staff
Any member of staff at Manchester Met can sign up for Carbon Literacy training.
what to expect
There will be opportunities throughout the year for staff to sign up for Carbon Literacy training. This course provides a comprehensive overview of climate change: the basic science behind it, its drivers and impacts, as well as an understanding of the actions required by individuals, communities, and organisations to avoid the worst impacts and set us on a path to a sustainable future. Our aim is to help participants empower themselves to plan and implement climate action in their personal and professional lives, to address the most critical issue facing the world in the 21st century.
The training consists of six one-hour modules of contact time, plus an hour of self-study. It will normally run over one full- or two half-days. After the training, you will have the opportunity to apply for a Carbon Literacy certificate to demonstrate your new status.
Upcoming dates
There is an opportunity for staff to attend Carbon Literacy training online on 27th November & 4th December, 2023. You must attend both days to complete the training. Click here for more details.
There is an opportunity for staff to attend Carbon Literacy training face-to-face on 17th January, 2024. this is a full-day session. Click here for more details.
Get in touch
Contact the Carbon Literacy Team if you have further questions about the Carbon Literacy course.
If you are a leader or Head of Department looking to train your team in Carbon Literacy, we would be happy to discuss potential bespoke training (note that this will depend on our team’s capacity and expected numbers). Get in touch if you’d like to explore this option.
If you have any additional learning requirements, please contact us so we can work out how you can best be supported in undertaking this programme.
Visit our sustainability events and workshops webpage to find our when the next Carbon Literacy courses are running. -
For Students
We are working hard to make Carbon Literacy training available to all students at Manchester Met.
What to expect
Carbon Literacy training provides a comprehensive overview of climate change: the basic science behind it, its drivers and impacts, as well as an understanding of the actions required by individuals, communities, and organisations to avoid the worst impacts and set us on a path to a sustainable future. Our aim is to help participants empower themselves to plan and implement climate action in their personal, professional, and academic lives, to address the most critical issue facing the world in the 21st century.
The training consists of six one-hour modules of contact time, plus an hour of self-study. It will normally run over one full- or two half-days. After the training, you will have the opportunity to apply for a Carbon Literacy certificate to demonstrate your new status.
how to access the training
Starting in academic year 2022-23, we are embedding Carbon Literacy training onto courses across the University. This means it will be provided as a standard part of many (eventually all) degree courses. To find out if Carbon Literacy is included in any of your units this year, contact your tutor or programme leader. We will run extracurricular training sessions in spring 2024 for students who have not had the opportunity to attend the training as part of their course. If Carbon Literacy is included as part of your course, you do not need to sign up for the extracurricular training. Dates for these open sessions will be posted here once confirmed. If you would like us to contact you once dates are set, please email carbonliteracy@mmu.ac.uk with your degree programme and current year of study.
Get in touch
Contact the Carbon Literacy Team if you have further questions about the Carbon Literacy course.
If you have any additional learning requirements, please contact us so we can work out how you can best be supported in undertaking this programme.
Visit our sustainability events and workshops webpage to find our when the next Carbon Literacy courses are running. -
For University Leaders
We have developed Carbon Literacy for Leaders, a course designed to build strong organisational leadership capacity to deliver transformational change in response to the critical challenge posed by climate change.
This Carbon Literacy leaders training will enable managers and senior colleagues to identify opportunities to make a meaningful difference - to challenge existing systems and processes, maintain a sense of urgency, and to translate carbon literacy knowledge into all areas of University business, so that we can work more sustainably and reach zero carbon by 2038 or sooner.
Manchester Met is a world leading provider of Carbon Literacy training.
What does the training involve?
Part 1: you will be asked to watch the 60-minute BBC David Attenborough documentary ‘Climate Change – The Facts’ before attending the webinar.
Part 2: a 3.5-hour interactive webinar led by the University’s expert Carbon Literacy team.
Part 3 (optional, required for certification): Following the training, you will be asked to develop and implement appropriate actions in your service area. To gain your Carbon Literacy certificate you will need to complete a post-course survey that documents these actions.
Visit our events and workshops web page to find our when the next Carbon Literacy for Leaders courses are taking place.
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Become a Student Session Assistant or Trainer
Overview
Students at Manchester Met can play an active role in the delivery of Carbon Literacy training to their peers and to University staff. By training to be a Carbon Literacy Session Assistant and/or Student Trainer, you will develop invaluable transferable skills, whilst learning about and making an impact on the most pressing issue of our time.
Session Assistants can support Carbon Literacy training sessions by:
- Facilitating discussion and supporting learners during activities
- Setting up and clearing the room
- Handing out and collecting resources
Student Trainers (in addition to the above) can actually lead sections of Carbon Literacy training both online and face-to-face.
The process of becoming a Student Trainer is as follows - candidates must complete the steps in order, but there is no obligation to progress to the next step:
- Complete regular Carbon Literacy training
- Attend the Session Assistant workshop
- Complete the Train-the-Trainer course
Benefits
Not only will you be able to play an active part in addressing the greatest challenge of our time, but you will also be able to access paid opportunities through Jobs 4 Students to support Carbon Literacy training as Session Assistants and Student Trainers. This is a fantastic opportunity to use your passion for climate action to bolster your CV, build meaningful work experience, and gain Rise points (Session Assistant - 40 points; Student Trainer - 150 points).
By following the Session Assistant and Train-the-Trainer programmes, students can develop skills in communication, time management, and public speaking, as well as building confidence. These capacities will benefit you well beyond your time at University, and many Student Trainers have gone on to work in sustainability- and climate-focused jobs in various sectors after graduation. Read more about the Student Trainer experience here.
Dates
Carbon Literacy Session Assistant training will run on 15th, 22nd, & 29th November, 2023 (you must be available for all these dates). Sign up here.
The Train-the-Trainer Programme will run in the week of 22nd January, 2024 - exact dates TBC. To register your interest, contact carbonliteracy@mmu.ac.uk, stating your degree programme and year of study.
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Embed Carbon Literacy into a course
As part of our enabling strategy, Leadership in Sustainability (2022-2026), we are embarking upon an ambitious, University-wide rollout of Carbon Literacy training, with the aim of embedding Carbon Literacy in all degree programmes by 2026. This means that by academic year 2026-27, anyone studying at Manchester Met will have the chance to receive Carbon Literacy training as a standard part of their course.
To achieve this, we are currently recruiting Carbon Literacy Champions from every Department. Champions support this vital work by embedding Carbon Literacy onto their courses and promoting the initiative across their Departments.
So far, 115 Champions have been recruited from across the University. If you are interested in becoming a Carbon Literacy Champion, please contact your Head of Department, and sign up to our “Teach Carbon Literacy” training. This course takes place over two half-days and has the dual outcome of helping academics become Carbon Literate whilst also preparing them to deliver the training themselves.
The next round of Teach Carbon Literacy will take place on 15th and 16th January 2024. This course is open to designated Carbon Literacy Champions (speak to your HoD if interested in taking on this role) and departmental colleagues who will support the delivery of Carbon Literacy training. You can get full details and sign up here.
Meet some of our Student Trainers
Student Trainers are central to Carbon Literacy at Man Met
Meet the team
The Manchester Met train-the-trainer programme also offered a more rewarding alternative to the typical part-time jobs that students take on in Manchester, providing me with a professional qualification, alongside increased skills.
The Manchester Met train-the-trainer programme also offered a more rewarding alternative to the typical part-time jobs that students take on in Manchester, providing me with a professional qualification, alongside increased skills.
I was keen to embed Carbon Literacy into the curriculum as I felt students taking humanities and social science subjects tend to be less confident in articulating what their disciplinary knowledge and insights can offer to tackle real world problems.
I was keen to embed Carbon Literacy into the curriculum as I felt students taking humanities and social science subjects tend to be less confident in articulating what their disciplinary knowledge and insights can offer to tackle real world problems.