This work in progress paper presents an ongoing study at Aston University on embedding integrative and transformative Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into engineering curricula and assessing the long-term impact of integrated interdisciplinary design challenges on student learning, employability and graduate outcomes. Since their introduction in 2019, these challenges have evolved into structured components within the formal curriculum and aim to foster sustainability competencies aligned with UNESCO's ESD framework. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study evaluates real-world, sustainability-focused projects codesigned with industry and community partners. The paper outlines the research methodology, planned work and work in progress, and preliminary findings, as well as the anticipated outcomes of the evaluation of impact on student professional skills development, employability and graduate outcomes. Early findings indicate that challenge participation has led to enhanced problem-solving, collaboration, and ethical decisionmaking skills, as well as increased confidence in overall communication competencies. Preliminary data also points to improved employability and graduate outcomes as a result of challenge participation. As such, this paper provides valuable insights for ESD curriculum development and underscores the role of real-world, sustainability-focused projects in fostering competencies relevant to industry needs. Our work aims to highlight the transformational impact on students of integrating similar ESD initiatives within curricula and signpost methodologies and principles to support HEIs in their effective adoption and implementation.

Since October 2022, Aston University have partnered with a leading UK employer in the industrial water/utilities sector to co-design and implement multi-disciplinary, problem-based learning (PBL) engineering design challenges that aim to address complex sustainable development (SD) challenges faced by this sector. The engineering design challenges were embedded within formal and informal postgraduate curricula. The conceptualised framework sought to develop key technical and professional, industry-desired skills in students in line with graduate competencies and attributes integral to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This work details the participatory co-design and implementation of a pioneering initiative in collaboration with our industrial partner, outlining the context, structural framework and pedagogical approaches implemented that are crucial to developing engineering graduates ready for the Industry 5.0 era. Survey data of student perspectives of the challenge on their skills development and overall learning experience, as well as reflections from academic staff and industry professionals involved are thematically analysed. The main findings highlight the multi-faceted benefits of our approach in facilitating learning through interdisciplinary PBL, real-world challenges and industry exposure. Also emphasised is its effectiveness in providing students with transformative learning experiences, enhancing their skills, and bridging the gap between their academic experience and industry expectations. Overall, our pedagogical approach demonstrated tangible outcomes by preparing students for the evolving needs of Industry 5.0, and fostering a skilled workforce ready for real-world, complex SD challenges, thus also signifying the relevance and impact of our methodology in the current higher education landscape.

From December 2018 to September 2019, academics from different subject groups and professional staff from the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) at Aston University worked together to design and implement the first interdisciplinary Problem Based Learning (PBL) module within the College. This module integrated key knowledge related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and real-life problems from the Engineers without Borders (EWB) UK and was designed to enhance the student's critical thinking and problem-solving skills. This work will detail how this initiative was pioneered at Aston University to integrate SDGs, sustainable engineering, ethics, and engineering design principles into the engineering curricula using interdisciplinary PBL and design thinking, followed by the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the outcomes of the initiative.