“Climate change is the biggest threat modern humans have ever faced” (UN, 2021). In the fight against climate change, one of the key goals is a awareness raising about the environmental challenges and actions that can be taken to mitigate them (Varela- Candamio et al., 2018). The European Commission calls to prioritize environmental sustainability in Member States’ education systems. Despite the urgency of the problem, effective programs on climate change are scant. BtheChange is an Erasmus+ project which aims to develop an interactive digital educational program, for higher education students, to promote pro-environmental behaviour and support the European Union’s Green Deal for 2030, as well as promote digital literacy. Our project is expected to promote higher education students’ knowledge acquisition, reinforce pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours, and promote participants’ responsible citizenship. Our work will lead to the development of thought-provoking digitally delivered educational content.

Who are we?

The BtheChange partnership is composed of diverse research institutions, Universities and experts in the field. Our consortium is spread across Sweden – with Halmstaad University (project leader); Greece – the University of Western Macedonia; France University of Montpellier; and Cyprus – UCLAN Cyprus and I.P. Citizens in Power. Our team is composed of experienced researchers in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Physics and Engineering, Computer Science, Psychology and Behavioural Change, Climate Change and Sustainability, as well as Media and Communications.

What do we aim to achieve?

1. To promote awareness, knowledge and induce pro-environmental

2. To meet the learning needs of higher education students in the context of environmental sustainability.

3. To develop an international Interactive Educational Platform (IEP) hosting effective educational videos exemplified on the topic of climate change.

How will we achieve this?

We are currently working on developing an intelligent education video selection and content creation algorithm that identifies effective video characteristics and measures learners’ interactions with them. Our work will lead to the development of an educational platform powered by automated analytics for the selection of audio-visual educational content according to user characteristics supported by effective learning activities to elicit increases in knowledge and, hopefully, changes in attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. Want to be involved? Contact us at info@bthechangeproject.eu or via our social media and find out how you can contribute to our work!

References List:

1. United Nations (2021), “Climate Change ‘Biggest Threat Modern Humans Have Ever Faced’, World-Renowned Naturalist Tells Security Council, Calls for Greater Global Cooperation”, Press Release Security Council, SC/14445

2. Varela-Candamio, I. Novo-Corti, M.Teresa García-Álvarez, (2018), “The importance of environmental education in the determinants of green behavior: A meta-analysis approach”, Journal of Cleaner Production,Volume 170, pg. 1565-1578, ISSN 0959-6526, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.214.