Education for the goals

Education is the cornerstone of sustainable development. At RCSI, we aim to cultivate a new generation of healthcare professionals who are equipped to address global health challenges through sustainable and ethical practices, integrating principles of environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and climate action in our teaching and pedagogy.

In 2024, RCSI ranked as the top-performing medical school in Ireland in the international Planetary Health Report Card 2024, achieving the highest score for the second year in a row. Part of a global initiative led by the Planetary Health Alliance, an international consortium of organisations committed to addressing global environmental change and its health impacts, the report card assesses the extent to which higher education institutions across the globe are promoting and supporting planetary health. Our submission was led by our medical students.

We are committed to increasing awareness of climate change and sustainability across our undergraduate programmes with modules on planetary health introduced into in our Medicine and Pharmacy programmes. We are also ensuring our postgraduate trainees are equipped with the skills and knowledge to introduce sustainability within healthcare settings and as healthcare leaders through a free online CPD course which will launch in 2024.

Through the work of the Sustainability and Climate Health Committee, our education workstream will seek to enhance activities which support education for the goals for staff, students and the wider community.