Dr. Stella Apostolaki, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at the Department of Science and Mathematics – Deree, and Executive Director of the Centre of Excellence in Sustainability, The American College of Greece (ACG), presented a paper on ‘Fostering creativity and innovation through the teaching of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) in higher education’ at the ICERI 2025 18th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation that took place in Seville (Spain), on 10th – 12th of November 2025.
The paper presented an educational approach for understanding sustainability issues and the special nature of the SDGs through experience, science and art expression. More explicitly, this SDG-focusing module involves on-campus field studies on environmental and social issues, science experiments in labs with emphasis on the environmental SDGs, humanities and philosophy analysis of the relevant concepts and promotes critical thinking, innovation and creativity. The students are required to think outside the box, transform the university campus into a living lab, engage the university community in real-life projects, and eventually create their own art, intellectual works, and/or technological projects that demonstrate the interdisciplinary nature of selected or all SDGs. The outcomes of the module extend beyond knowledge acquisition to become an invaluable, sometimes life-changing experience for students that defines their attitudes towards life, nature, environmental protection, social cohesion, peacemaking, sustainable growth, and collaboration for a sustainable future for all.