Excursions

Target group: Students
Duration: One day to several weeks
Keywords: Real-world relevance, learning in authentic environments, experience-based learning, on-site reflection, interdisciplinary perspectives, encounters with experts, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), experiencing natural and cultural environments, critical evaluation of human-environment relationships, problem-solving and judgment skills, change of perspective, empathy

Module 5 , "Excursion to Sustainable Development," from el mundo – Sustainability in Study and Teaching, gives teacher training students the opportunity to experience education for sustainable development (ESD) directly on site, taking both regional and global perspectives into account. By examining concrete examples of sustainable transformation in different social, economic, and ecological contexts, theory and practice are closely linked.

In 2025, the first field trip took participants to the Ruhr region. The focus there was on topics such as structural change, sustainability in urban areas, and innovative projects for sustainable development. Through direct exchange with local experts and stakeholders, students gained valuable insights into current challenges and approaches to creating a sustainable society.

The destination for next year's excursion has not yet been finalized. However, an excursion to the Benelux countries is in the planning stages and will provide insight into European approaches to sustainable urban and regional development. In the future, there may also be opportunities for trips with a more global perspective, focusing on biodiversity, climate protection, and participatory education projects. Regardless of the destination, however, the excursion should always illustrate how ESD can be implemented in practice in different contexts.

Through preparatory seminars, accompanying reflection phases, and joint follow-up work, the experiences are systematically integrated into the study context. In this way, students not only develop specialist knowledge, but also design skills in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Inner Development Goals (IDGs).

The excursion module thus offers a unique learning space to get to know international and interdisciplinary perspectives on ESD and to make them fruitful for one's own future work in the field of education.

Take a look behind the scenes of our past excursion to the Ruhr region in August 2025: