Education

Contributing to a sustainable future

Our work is key in helping people tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. We are focusing on providing people with the skills and knowledge they need to understand these problems and develop solutions.

Our education initiatives have a major societal impact:

Teacher shortages
we have created programs to address global teacher shortages, particularly in India
Refugee support
we work with partners to support education in refugee contexts, including UNICEF in Bangladesh

Climate literacy

we are updating our UK and international qualifications and resources to ensure they reflect the most up-to-date science and contemporary framing of climate change

National education system transformation

we partner with governments worldwide to improve education across entire nations – for example, in Bhutan, we work with the government to reform its curriculum to honour Bhutanese values and achieve international standards

Education is the key to tackling the climate crisis

Together with schools, we want to empower young people with the skills and knowledge to respond and adapt to climate change. Our curriculum experts in the International Education group have designed a Climate Change Education Framework, in close collaboration with climate experts from the University of Cambridge. This outlines the key knowledge, skills and understanding required to empower learners to take action on climate change.

Holistic approach

The Framework is built around four dimensions that together create a holistic approach to climate change education:

Understanding of causes, effects, consequences and responses
Evaluating information, perspectives and data
Caring for ourselves, each other and the planet
Responding together with informed action.

Publishing for a sustainable world

Cambridge publishes research and shares knowledge that informs, educates and inspires others to drive positive environmental and social change, including:

Five Times Faster by Simon Sharpe

Argues for accelerating efforts to combat dangerous climate change and was selected as one of the Financial Times’ best books of 2023 for the environment

Legacy by Dieter Helm

Outlines what is needed to build a sustainable economy, and was also selected as one of the Financial Times’ best books of 2023 for economics

The Science of Our Changing Climate

A key student text on climate science

The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review

A significant report from the UK’s HM Treasury, published by Cambridge

Open access series and journals

Cambridge publishes the open access series ‘Cambridge Prisms’ and journals, including ‘Global Sustainability’, advancing knowledge about the climate emergency

IPCC Reports

Cambridge publishes key reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

A distinctive approach to climate education

Our work involves engaging people with all the major shifts in society. However, our primary focus is on educating people so that they can understand and develop responses to address the climate challenge. Our approach to climate education is distinguished in several ways:

We emphasise climate education as holistic and multi-disciplinary, not confined to specific subjects such as Geography and the sciences. Our brand new Level 3 Certificate in Sustainability is now available and a new GCSE in Natural History, which will include content on climate change, is in development.
We ensure content reflects current climate science and that it is inclusive for all students, across all ages, enabling learners to make career choices and to empower agency and action. As the issue of climate change is experienced very differently in different parts of the world, our content is both global and local in scope.

Our UK exam board, Cambridge OCR, is actively engaged in the UK’s curriculum and assessment review process, and we have advocated for the inclusion of climate and sustainability content.

Systems-level: we work with organisations like ICESCO to produce greening guidance for education systems around the world. This year, we worked with the Ministry of Education of Oman to develop and launch a new subject for Grade 11 and 12: Environmental Sciences.
University-wide collaboration: we leverage expertise from across the University of Cambridge, including Cambridge Zero and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. We bring together academics from departments of the University to share their research and perspectives with colleagues to inform the development of qualifications, resources and pedagogy.
Global reach: we are ensuring climate education resources are accessible globally, with adaptations for different regions. Our successful Climate Quest programme, a flexible, self-directed online course for 15-to 19-year-olds in India, is now being tailored for rollout in other countries.
Advocacy and thought leadership: Through thought leadership and advocacy we are highlighting how climate education equips individuals and communities with the knowledge, skills and agency to drive systemic change. The Free Carbon and ESG analyst course in Africa empowered 110 female graduates with sustainability skills and mentoring.

Cambridge Advance Online, our programme of short online executive and professional courses led by University of Cambridge academics, has been a successful model of digital education with career coaching and mentoring with clear links to employability in the area of sustainability.

Carbon literacy training

Our in-house Carbon Literacy training for Cambridge colleagues has accredited over 400 learners as ‘Carbon Literate’ through peer-to-peer learning, who then support other colleagues to act on climate change. We are a Bronze Carbon Literate Organisation with the Carbon Literacy Project, and we are working towards achieving silver status by the end of financial year 2026–27. We have also worked with partners including the British Council, REAch2 – the UK’s largest primary multi-academy Trust – to develop Carbon Literacy courses for their employees.

Making sure education keeps pace with a modern Mongolia

Mongolia is on a journey to transform its education system – one that reaches every child, in every corner of this vast and beautiful country. In 2022, the Government of Mongolia invited Cambridge to join them on a five-year partnership to reimagine how learning is delivered and supported. Together, we have been working to make learning more meaningful and accessible, updating the curriculum, training curriculum developers and textbook publishers, supporting teachers through new national standards, and strengthening university entrance exams ensuring the system better recognises students’ potential.

This collaboration is already reaching classrooms across the country, supporting more than 291,000 students and 9,500 teachers. With every step, Mongolia is building an education system that inspires confidence, nurtures curiosity, and gives every learner the chance to thrive.

Amplfying student voices on climate change

This year, our International Education group have continued to amplify student voices on climate change education through a series of Climate Action Week events held in London, Rio and Bangkok.

Across these global sessions, nine students shared their perspectives on how education can empower meaningful climate action. Their insights are now featured on our new Student Voices on Climate Change webpage, where schools can access videos and practical resources to spark classroom conversations about climate issues. To support teachers, our Climate Action Week Handout includes reflection tools, recommended reading lists, and our Getting Started with Climate Change Education guide, helping schools spark meaningful, student-led discussions on climate change.