Manchester Metropolitan University [MMU] says that it is leading the world when it comes to teaching students to become “carbon literate”. It seems that students from MMU's Department of Food and Tourism Management have become the first in the world to gain a Carbon Literacy Certificate as part of their university course. MMU says that this will help them impress employers in the future.
The students in question are studying Masters degrees in events, hospitality, food and tourism management programmes, and the teaching programme was externally accredited, and the certificates awarded, by an independent low-carbon future charity, Cooler Projects.
Dr Chris Stone, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Food and Tourism Management, has said this:
“Students recognised the importance of learning about the carbon emissions and climate change imperative in the twenty-first century and were hungry for knowledge about the subject. Employers are seeking graduates with the knowledge and skills to address sustainability issues, and the award will provide a valuable addition to students’ CVs. The carbon literacy project will be further extended across the teaching programmes of the Department of Food and Tourism Management in 2015-16.”
And Phil Korbel, Co-Director of the Carbon Literacy Project, has said this:
“Manchester Met has been a long-time partner for our project and getting Carbon Literacy embedded in university courses is essential if we are to succeed in creating the world's first Carbon Literate City. These graduates are real pioneers, the first in their fields to be Carbon Literate, and they will now go forward to generate and implement great ideas on how their sectors can make a real difference to a safer future for us all.”
Well, this is all very good (and very well, too), and an indicator of that old adage beloved of Mancunians that Manchester does it differently, does it better, and did it yesterday. But the claims seem overblown, so I'll be looking out for all those future comments from impressed employers.
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