All 14 000 undergraduates and postgraduates will have to take the course regarding the social and ecological aspects of the climate crisis. The university will also provide a training programme on climate issues for its 6 000 academic staff.
The announcement about the new module was made after a week of sit-in occupation by students from an anti-fossil fuel organisation called End Fossil Barcelona.
“The trigger was the student occupation, but it shows a general cultural change. Ten or 15 years ago the university would have sent in the police.” said Federico Demaria, an economics professor at the university and one of the 200 who supported the activists.
The students suggested names of the academics and professionals who should design the structure and the content of the module. The university agreed to appoint 60% of the nominees to the committee of experts who will meet to discuss the form of the course.
The module will be worth five credits. Each credit will represent 25 hours of study. These hours will include 15 hours of independent study and 10 hours of in-person teaching. The module is to appear on students’ timetables from the beginning of the academic year of 2024.
The university did not comply with the activists’ other demand that it should reject funding from the oil company Repsol and other businesses profiting from fossil fuels.