INTEGRATING CULTURAL CREATIVITY AND INDUSTRY COURSES INTO SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICE

This study explored how cultural creativity courses can enhance university students’ awareness of sustainability issues and inform the design of sustainable development practices aligned with local cultural values. A total of 75 university students participated in an 18-week general education course, with 50 valid responses analyzed through a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data were collected via a semi-structured questionnaire, while qualitative data included reflections and interviews analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that students developed significant insights into environmental, economic, and social sustainability dimensions through experiential activities, such as field visits and creative product designs. These results align with prior research on experiential learning, highlighting the importance of integrating cultural creativity into sustainability education. However, this study contributes a novel framework by demonstrating how localized, hands-on courses can foster community engagement and sustainable practices. This research provides implications for designing university curricula that address sustainability while preserving local cultural heritage. This study has addressed a gap in sustainability education literature by integrating cultural creativity and experiential learning. The creative outputs, such as cultural products designed by the students, reflected the integration of sustainability practices with local cultural heritage. Keywords: action research, cultural and creative industries, social practice, sustainable development goals (SDGs), university social responsibility (USR)