Learning sustainable work through critical design: a case study of a hackathon to prepare the future workforce

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the future of work by investigating how work can be practiced to meet global sustainability goals. The authors draw from empirical findings from a case of critical design session with university students. The aim of the design session was, on the one hand, to embed sustainability into education and, on the other hand, to prepare students with necessary conceptual tools to be prepared for future work. The research questions explored are: What do students learn through engagement in critical design, and how can that foster sustainable work?

Design/methodology/approach

The research approach is a case study, drawing on critical design activities with 45 students at a university course. The data consists of students’ reflections on their design efforts and one researcher’s field notes from the design session.

Findings

The findings show that the students engaged in critical design learn different aspects of sustainable work: how to be solution oriented, how to use technology to do good in the world and outside-the-box thinking skills.

Originality/value

The authors contribute extended insight into what it means to work for sustainable development, hence doing sustainable work, and how sustainable work can be conducted in practice. The authors discuss three dimensions of sustainable work that we argue are essential to understand how professionals can work towards increased sustainability. The three dimensions are: participation-based work, practice-based work and context-based work.

Citation

Islind, A.S. and Norström, L. (2020), "Learning sustainable work through critical design: a case study of a hackathon to prepare the future workforce", Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 32 No. 8, pp. 641-651. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-05-2020-0082