Enacting possibility thinking in academic curricula: fostering higher education students' green skills for a sustainable future

Education for sustainability and green skills development is at a critical crossroad. The current conditions and available resources allow an opportunity to redefine how higher education educates the next generation for the challenges of the 21st century. With the increasing urgency to address complex global challenges, such as environmental agricultural degradation, climate change and resources depletion, it is clear that traditional educational models are inadequate to prepare students as professionals for the future workforce. Therefore, it is crucial to deliver calibrated education that builds students’ problem-solving skills and the power of ‘possibility thinking’ through complex challenges. ‘Possibility thinking’ requires re-imagining what is not there (asking ‘what if?’) and creating paths and new possibilities beyond current worldview, expectation or experience (asking ‘what can be?’). The project featured in this article aims to define a new paradigm for sustainability education using core aspects of ‘possibility thinking’. Conclusions highlight the need for universities to integrate new scientific discoveries, emerging technologies, tools and interdisciplinary approaches.