Lessons learned from developing a climate master’s programme

This case study describes the development of a flexible master's programme in climate change and sustainable development designed for universities across the SADC region. Led by a consortium of 23 academics from six universities, the project aimed to create a shared curriculum to build capacity for climate compatible development in southern Africa.

• The project produced three primary deliverables over a twelve-month period: a Curriculum Framework (covering rationale, principles, and structure), the Curriculum itself (consisting of three core and four elective modules), and Courseware (resource packs and usage guidelines).
• The project identified a need for early, comprehensive training on pedagogical principles and the specific language of curriculum development, noting that academics often rely on intuitive teaching rather than formal frameworks for assessment and activity alignment.
• Virtual communication was found to be unsatisfactory and frustrating, leading some team members to work in isolation. The case study suggests that more frequent face-to-face meetings within individual module teams would have been more effective than relying on long-distance communication.
• To improve efficiency, the project suggests implementing a pilot testing phase where a single high-capacity team completes a first module to illustrate requirements and reduce the need for repeated revisions.
• The collaborative co-production process provided indirect benefits to the 23 participating academics, including the growth of subject expertise through cross-fertilisation with regional counterparts and the building of trust and respect across regional divisions.

APA

Ashburner, L. (n.d.). Lessons learned from developing a climate master’s programme. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/story/feature-climate-masters-programme

Chicago

Ashburner, Leslie. Lessons learned from developing a climate master’s programme. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, n.d. https://cdkn.org/story/feature-climate-masters-programme.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ashburner |first1=Leslie |title=Lessons learned from developing a climate master’s programme |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |url=https://cdkn.org/story/feature-climate-masters-programme |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ashburnerndlessons, author = {Ashburner, Leslie}, title = {{Lessons learned from developing a climate master’s programme}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, url = {https://cdkn.org/story/feature-climate-masters-programme}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }