Student Sustainability Survey

Project name: Student Sustainability Survey
Project Lead: Dr. Anna Sabidussi
Researchers:

• Dr. Nikos Misirlis
• Dr. Nasir Syed

Start date: January 2025
Status: Ongoing
Project duration: Until December 2025
Funding: €10,000 (HAN SEE)

The Student Sustainability Survey investigates how students across HAN develop sustainability-related mindsets, behaviours and competencies during their studies. It focuses on students’ values, attitudes, personal agency and perceived capacity to contribute to sustainable change.

The project contributes directly to HAN’s sustainability strategy and supports CIBR’s mission to connect international business, education, and applied research with societal impact

HAN has introduced various initiatives to embed sustainability within its programmes, operations and strategic direction. However, the actual impact of education on students’ development as sustainability-driven professionals had not yet been measured.

This project addresses that gap through a student-centred approach that examines how education shapes students’ attitudes, motivations and perceived agency to act for a more sustainable future.

The project is part of a broader SEE initiative that also includes the Energy Transition Readiness (ETR) Tool, providing a holistic view of sustainability in education from institutional readiness to individual student development.

This project explores how students experience and engage with sustainability in their studies and daily lives. It looks at sustainability-related outcomes across environmental, social, and economic dimensions, while examining how education shapes students’ mindsets, behaviours, and sense of agency. By translating these insights into data-driven knowledge, the project supports stronger integration of sustainability within curricula and academic programmes. At the same time, it invites students to reflect on their own role as responsible professionals and active agents of change.

The research is based on a quantitative survey that captures a multidimensional picture of sustainability learning among students. It examines sustainability-related values and attitudes, everyday behaviours, underlying motivations and personality factors, as well as students’ perceived agency to contribute to societal change. Conducted across several HAN academies, the survey uses validated instruments to ensure both depth and reliability. The resulting analysis provides insights at both academy and programme level, enabling targeted improvements in the way sustainability is embedded within education.

The project is coordinated by CIBR in cooperation with the SEE lectorate and HAN’s sustainability research teams.
External collaboration is not the primary focus, as the aim is to analyse internal educational impact across HAN.

The expected outcomes of this research include a clearer understanding of how HAN’s education contributes to students’ sustainability development. The findings will translate into concrete recommendations for strengthening the integration of sustainability across programmes and will provide evidence-based input to support HAN’s sustainability strategy and policy decisions. In addition, the study lays a solid foundation for future comparative research and longitudinal tracking, ensuring that insights can evolve over time. Together, these outcomes support both educational innovation and informed institutional decision-making.

Relevant for:

• Students – to reflect on personal sustainability development.
• Educators & Programme Coordinators – to enhance sustainability in curricula.
• HAN management & policy teams – for strategy and planning.
• External education and research networks – as a model of applied sustainability education research.

Students are the main contributors to the survey.
By participating, they gain insight into their own sustainability mindset and how education prepares them to navigate complex societal challenges.

For more information:
researchcenter.isb@han.nl