Designing ideal learning spaces with sustainability in mind

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore opportunities for integrating sustainability into teaching in HE, Higher Education, starting from transformative and critical perspectives. Using utopia as a method (Levitas, 2013) in higher education allows for the creation of alternative futures, thus expanding our understanding beyond the current capitalocene framework (Suvin, 2021). Design/methodology/approach A qualitative analysis of students’ presentations on ideal learning spaces has been performed, created by students from adult education (AE) and architecture studies (AS) at the University of Belgrade. Utilizing a multimodal discourse analysis, the authors examine both text and visuals in the analyzed presentations. Findings Student presentations reflect specific characteristics of their prior learning experience. This activity opened opportunities to AE students to integrate some ideas of sustainability, while to students of AS to focus more on innovation in the teaching process and to learn both in formal and in nonformal settings. Two dominant discourses identified are naïve sustainability and certain practical future. Practical implications University teachers might be inspired to apply similar activities in teaching groups in different fields, both in scientific and geographic terms. The utopian method, within an educational context, fosters critical engagement with reality while concurrently providing space for the development of innovative thinking. It encourages a reevaluation of existing theoretical approaches and their practical implementation, promoting a dynamic and transformative mindset. Originality/value The application of utopian methodology is an unconventional topic in higher education. However, it presents a novel approach when teaching sustainability within a multidisciplinary environment. Multimodal discourse analysis reveals the challenges that might be faced by educators who aim to implement this innovative teaching method across various cultural and organizational contexts.