At MAKÜ, the needs of teacher candidates for sustainability were discussed in a workshop before COP31

Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ) hosted an important study aimed at preparing future teachers for sustainability and climate action. The ‘Towards COP31 Micro Competencies for Sustainability: Needs Analysis Workshop for Future Teachers’ was held in the Avşarhan VIP Hall, organized in collaboration with the University’s Social Contribution Coordination and the Faculty of Education.

The workshop, which started with the opening speech of Prof. Dr. Firdevs Savi Çakar, Dean of the Faculty of Education at MAKÜ, was attended by representatives from public institutions, local governments, development agency representatives, teachers working in schools under the Ministry of National Education, academics, students, and university coordinators. In the workshop, which had a total of 45 participants, the educational needs of teacher candidates in the fields of sustainability and climate action were evaluated based on the opinions of various stakeholders.

Solutions were developed at five separate tables

During the workshop, participants came together at five separate tables under the headings of ‘External Stakeholders and Collaboration’, ‘Implementation and Field’, ‘Future Teachers’, ‘Academic Expertise’, and ‘Institutional Structure and Quality’.

The groups identified the knowledge and skills that teacher candidates need to acquire regarding sustainability and climate action, transforming these needs into learning outcomes, implementation activities, and assessment methods of the educational program. The suggestions that emerged after the table discussions were shared with the participants.

Dr. Funda Uysal, the Social Contribution Coordinator and one of the organizers of the workshop, emphasized the importance of the study, stating that the Turkey Century Education Model imposes the responsibility of developing sustainability literacy on all teachers without subject distinction. Uysal expressed that the first step was taken to design the needed educational program not at the table, but with the opinions coming from the field, classrooms, students, and institutions.

The outputs of the workshop will be shared at COP31

The views and suggestions obtained in the workshop will be compiled in a final report. The report will form the basis for the sustainability and climate action program to be developed within the framework of the micro-competency regulations of the Higher Education Council.

The draft of the program to be developed by MAKÜ and the results of the workshop will be shared on the international platform as a project of the university through a digital presentation at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP31, which will be held in Antalya between November 9-20, 2026.