The SustainaBul MBO is a network of schools trying to achieve further sustainability in MBO education. Over 35 institutions have now joined the collaborative network for sustainable development. They do this by sharing knowledge and exchanging experiences in various meetings. Participants also complete a questionnaire on sustainability within the school. These questions provide a clear framework for a sustainable school, help in the formulation and monitoring of sustainability policies and form a national benchmark.
Network of coordinators and knowledge-sharing meetings
If you are a coordinator within your mbo working on sustainability (integral, in education, practice and/or operations) you can participate in the network of coordinators. This network has contact mainly through a Whatsapp group where questions are asked and ideas, examples and documents are exchanged. In addition, 4 knowledge sharing meetings will be organized this year. At these meetings, a good practice is presented by one of the institutions. Then we hold an intervision session, where each participant can bring in a case to discuss.
The schedule and topics of the knowledge meetings can be found in the agenda.
Meetings for administrators and directors
Albeda and Coöperatie Leren voor Morgen are taking the initiative for the first collegial board meeting on sustainability in mbo. During this year we want to discuss the what we encounter in the process of sustainability in mbo to stimulate, inspire and support each other. We will discuss questions such as: What opportunities can you take advantage of? What obstacles do you encounter as an institution? And what steps can you take? During this discussion, Simone Frederikzs, member of the Executive Board of Albeda, explains how they managed to become a leader in sustainability in the mbo. We also explore whether we can organize meetings for directors.
Are you an administrator or director and want to join or contribute to these meetings? If so, please contact Madelon de Beus.
Communications
Of course we like to highlight the great sustainable steps that are being taken! Throughout the year, good examples will be shared from the SustainaBul 2023, in line with the various themes from the questionnaire. In addition, all institutions can share their experiences and developments through Learning for Tomorrow. For the award ceremony, an invitation and press release will be shared with all participating institutions and their communication departments.
Questionnaire update
Participants complete a questionnaire on sustainability within the school. These questions provide a clear framework for a sustainable school, assist in the formulation and monitoring of sustainability policies, and provide a national benchmark. The questionnaire is characterized by an integral approach and is based on the Whole School Approach. There are integral questions, as well as questions that connect to education, practice and operations.
For each question, there are a few answer options to choose from and space to explain this answer. In addition, you will be asked to upload evidence for support. In 2024, not much will change in the questionnaire to allow comparison by year. The changes proposed come from the evaluations, suggestions from the sounding board group, a conversation with JOBmbo and the rankers.
Participants also complete a questionnaire on sustainability within the school. These questions provide a clear framework for a sustainable school, assist in the creation and monitoring of sustainability policies and provide a national benchmark.
Process, ranking and awarding
The institutions assess each other's responses to the questionnaire and provide feedback. For this purpose, each participating school provides a ranker who is available for 2 days to assess the answers. This is a great way to professionalize and it is possible to give preference to assess specific questions. In addition, we involve students in assessing the student engagement question. Schools with an involved student council or Green Office can sign up for this.
The award ceremony is scheduled for the end of November! There the entire sustainable mbo network will meet and share the results. There are several categories for this:
- Kickstarters (colleges participating for the first time)
- Accelerators (colleges that have the largest increase in points over the previous year)
- Frontrunners (colleges that achieve the most points): we are still investigating whether to make a split in this between frontrunner institutions and frontrunner schools.
All important dates in the process can be found here: mbo.sustainabul.com
Is your institution already participating?
Even if you do not yet know whether you want to join the ranking, you can join the network and the knowledge-sharing meetings. In addition, the SustainaBul MBO questionnaire is a tool that can also be used as a baseline measurement; often much more is already happening than is visible at first glance! Wondering if it can help your institution further? Please contact Simone Kleinhout, executive project manager of the SustainaBul MBO (sustainabulmbo@lerenvoormorgen.org).
