Our Story
How a moment of inspiration at Liverpool Street station in 2018 grew into a global movement for Education for Sustainable Development.
The Origin
Where It All Began
Back in 2018, Dr Maria Toro-Troconis was approached by ex-colleagues from different London universities needing guidance on the transition to online learning. While supporting universities at CEG Digital, it became clear that academics, learning designers and learning technologists needed far more than a few hours of training — and they needed to work as teams, not individuals.
"I clearly remember the day when I was waiting for a train at Liverpool Street station in London and the idea of a 'Bootcamp' came to my head."
Maria reached out to two trusted colleagues: Santanu Vasant (University of East London) and Dr Julie Voce (City University of London). Both showed immediate support. Soon after, other universities joined — and the Bootcamp was born.
The first Bootcamp launched with support from the University of East London, City University London, CEG Digital, Falmouth University, University of Liverpool, Queen Mary University of London, Imperial College London, and University of Greenwich.
Dr Maria Toro-Troconis
Founder & Director
Learning Design & ESD Bootcamp
The Transformation
From Learning Design to ESD
2018–2021
Learning Design Bootcamp supporting HE institutions through online transitions and community building.
2022
Maria's work as a UN consultant sparked the integration of ESD — giving birth to the CoDesignS ESD Framework and ALDESD.
2022–Present
Global reach with UNESCO IESALC, delivering in English and Spanish, training teams across 20+ countries.
Timeline
The Bootcamp Journey
From four UK teams in 2019 to a global programme spanning 20+ countries.
Bootcamp
2019
The Beginning — Blended Learning
The first Bootcamp Call went out in November 2018. Four teams were selected and the Bootcamp ran from May to July 2019, delivered in a blended format — the only edition before the pandemic.
Manchester Metropolitan University won and was selected as host of Bootcamp 2020.
Bootcamp
2020
Going Fully Online — Through the Pandemic
Six teams were selected from UK universities. The programme started in March 2020 — just as COVID-19 lockdown began — and ended in July 2020. All activities were delivered fully online.
Bootcamp
2021
Scaling Up — UK, Ireland, Iceland & UAE
The third Bootcamp Call went out in November 2020. Eleven teams were selected, expanding internationally for the first time.
Bootcamp
2022
The ESD Pivot — Global Reach with UNESCO IESALC
A landmark year. The Bootcamp evolved to embed Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into curriculum design, delivered in English and Spanish with UNESCO IESALC. 21 teams participated globally. The new CoDesignS ESD Framework was a key part of the success of the Bootcamp — providing a 'common language' (as participants described it) in the process of embedding ESD in curriculum design.
Bootcamp
2023
Continued Growth
Building on the success of 2022, the Bootcamp continued to expand its reach and refine its approach to embedding ESD in curriculum design globally, supported by the new CoDesignS ESD Framework.
Impact
What We've Achieved
"I never thought back in 2018 the Learning Design Bootcamp would become what it is today."
190+
Participants Trained
65+
Diverse Teams
20+
Countries Reached
20+
University Representatives on Committee
30+
Certified Mentors Globally
10+
Research Publications
Global Reach
Universities We've Worked With
Over 5 years of global impact
United Kingdom
Latin American Countries
United Arab Emirates
Spain
Ireland
Malaysia
Hong Kong
Australia
Iceland
Philippines
China
Singapore
Research
Early Publications
Ahmad N, Toro-Troconis M, Ibahrine M, Armour R, Tait V, Reedy K, Malevicius R, Dale V, Tasler N, Inzolia Y. (2023).
CoDesignS Education for Sustainable Development: A Framework for Embedding Education for Sustainable Development in Curriculum DesignSustainability. 2023; 15(23):16460. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316460
Varga-Atkins, Toro-Troconis, Ahmad (2024).
Advances of Learning Design in Education for Sustainable Development: Experiences from the Learning Design and ESD Bootcamp 2022Special issue of the Open Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (OSTL) Journal
Toro-Troconis, M., Reedy, K., Voce, J., Bates, E., Mills, L., Lewis, C., Hurst, K., Williams, S., Perouli, C. and Vasant, S. (2022).
Learning Design in Higher Education: Building Communities of Practicein Isaias, P., Issa, T. and Kommers, P. (eds.), Measurement Methodologies to Assess the Effectiveness of Global Online Learning, IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-8661-7
Learning Design Bootcamp Committee (2021).
Learning Design Bootcamp – Supporting Higher Education institutions before, during and after COVID-19SEDA Blog
Toro-Troconis, M., Voice, J., Alexander, J., Vasant, S. et al. (2021).
Using Behaviour Change as a Critical Frame of Reference to Understand the Adoption of Learning Design Methodologies in Higher EducationWorld Journal of Education, 11(2):1 DOI: 10.5430/wje.v11n2p1
"I personally feel extremely lucky to be part of this amazing journey and community that until now has achieved all of this on a voluntary basis. I look forward to maintaining and nurturing our community and expanding our impact globally." — 2022
Dr Maria Toro-Troconis — Founder & Director, ALDESD
In Collaboration With
