FRESH at Clemson University reposted this
In FRESH at Clemson University’s Thursday Thoughts webinar today, which focused on “Developing the Next-Generation Sustainability Talent,” Haley Appleby, Senior Lecturer & Capstone Course Coordinator at Clemson University and Co-Director of the The Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics, shared her thoughts on academia’s role in sustainability: “Academia is uniquely positioned in that a lot of what we’re doing now is somewhat responding to industry and this kind of moving target that is sustainability and then also responding to the interest of this next generation. “I think this next generation is super unique and interesting, and they’re so passionate about sustainability. They’re coming in with that—that’s not something that we are prompting within them. They are curious and they’re empathetic about it, and they want to make a change. And so we’re kind of finding the balance of figuring that out. Universities across the country are doing this. They are developing program majors, minors, etcetera, etcetera, in and around sustainability. “At Clemson, we have a minor around sustainability. It’s not specific to packaging, but even within our packaging program, all of our areas that we focus on are now having elements of sustainability within it. We’re building out an entire sustainability research lab. So we are absolutely responding to both industry and this next generation’s needs and opportunities. We need to hear from industry, what are the tangible skills you want in your incoming workforce? What can we be teaching? What can we be incorporating into our classes in order to prepare the next generation? And then as far as opportunities go, continued partnerships between industry and academia. Students learn from faculty, but they’re really passionate about companies. They hear more, and they love to interact with companies. And I think when they hear from companies directly [about] their sustainability goals, what they’re doing, how they’re making an impact, they love that, and they respond really strongly to that. “So it’s a fun time to be kind of in this space within academia, and I’m excited about where we’re headed in the coming years.”