scholarly journals Sustainable Development and Higher Education: Acting with a Purpose

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 3831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Finnveden ◽  
Newman ◽  
Verhoef

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have a unique role and responsibility for the future and for driving the development of a sustainable society [...]

تجسير ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-78
Author(s):  
Mariam Al-Maadeed ◽  
Miguel Athayde Marques

This viewpoint analyses the status and transformation of Higher Education institutions during unpredicted great challenges such as the current Covid-19, which disrupted most of the economies on the planet. The changes facing Higher Education are not new, transformation has been seen in different areas, but shifts are expected to be deeper and faster after the pandemic. We show how the Higher Education institutions can resist and transform during the pandemic and we also discuss how these institutions can come out of the recession stronger and become capable of achieving long-term sustainability. For that aim, a leaner and more effective institution system with modified flexible policies that contribute to society and, at the same time, are mission-driven, is expected to be achieved. Universities in their recovery efforts must look far ahead and should not miss the opportunity to reassess their usefulness to society, nor to refocus their sense of purpose. We suggest that institutions of Higher Education play a more important role in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and contribute decisively to the several SDGs. In addition, we argue that the strategic direction of universities must be focused on stakeholder responsibility principles known as Environmental, Social, and Governance – ESG. Finally, we argue that the governance dimension is particularly critical for Higher Education institutions if they want to achieve long-term efficiency, sustainability and purpose.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamil Hammoud ◽  
Mohamed Tarabay

Responding to heightened global interest in and concern for the sustainability of the planet and our ways of life on it, The United Nations’ Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015) came out as a very ambitious and historic global agreement. The agenda identified what have become known as the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), along with their detailed targets to mobilize and guide global efforts toward ending poverty, fostering peace, safeguarding human rights and protecting the planet. Education for Sustainable Development forms part of Target 4.7 of Sustainable Development Goal 4, which seeks to “ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles…”Departing from the Brundtland Commission’s (1987) definition of sustainable development as a paradigm of resource use that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” universities have progressively been incorporating sustainability values, practices and initiatives into their activities, throughout the realm of what they do in teaching, research, administration and operational systems.  Indeed, Commitment to sustainability at universities worldwide dates back to the 1980’s, with a number of landmarks and declarations such as the Magna Charta of European Universities (1988), and the Talloires Declaration of University Presidents for a Sustainable Future (1990).However, the debate so far has centered mostly on the rationale and reasoning for broad adoption, rather than the various actions to be undertaken by higher education institutions (HEIs). Moreover, Efforts and initiatives to integrate sustainability into higher education in the developing world have been ad-hoc, modest and small (Mohamedbhai 2012).  We could only find a few research studies covering such efforts and initiatives anyways (Awuzie & Emuze, 2017; Bhat et al., 2017; Khalaf-Kairouz, 2012).This paper aims to describe sustainable practices of higher education institutions in the developing world, via a case study of Rafik Hariri University in Lebanon.  The authors utilize the 12 Features of Sustainable Society, developed by the Forum for the Future (2003) as an analytical framework, based on the Five Capitals Model.  The research instrument was a questionnaire derived from the 12 Features of a Sustainable Society and designed to identify the strategies, policies, values and practices pursued by the university to contribute to sustainable development.The outcome is a detailed level analysis into the ways in which a small institution of higher education in a developing country contributes to the betterment of the world via engagement in sustainability. Keywords Sustainability; Sustainable Development; Higher Education; Developing World; Higher Education for Sustainable Development; Rafik Hariri University; Lebanon; ESD; SDG; HESD


Author(s):  
Claudia Thea Schmitt ◽  
Alexander Bassen ◽  
Georg Müller-Christ

In this paper, Sustainable Development at Higher Education Institutions is introduced as a field of research and application. An interdisciplinary German collaboration on Sustainable Development at Higher Education Institutions – HOCHN – serves as an example of how this topic is addressed on a national level. Results and advances of the HOCHN collaboration are summarized. Moreover, challenges of implementing sustainability-related organizational development at universities are discussed. Focusing on Education for Sustainable Development at universities, three different methodologies are outlined that exceed conventional approaches in tertiary education: Lego® Serious Play® methodology, constellation techniques, and a coaching program on the “Five Minds for the Future”. They illustrate different ways of addressing issues of Education for Sustainable Development and skills and habits respectively that are crucial for achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.


Author(s):  
Anna Stareva

The author reveals the necessity of introducing into the educational and professional programs of preparation of masters of non-pedagogical specialties of the discipline "Didactics of higher education". Formation of pedagogical competences of the teacher of the higher school will allow the future specialists professional activity in the institutions of higher education. The article reveals the essence of didactic competence and peculiarities of its formation in higher education students in the current conditions of organizing the initial process. The competency approach should permeate all aspects of student training. Therefore, a special (didactic) competence should be included in the list of the graduates' learning outcomes. The didactic competence is the ability to apply knowledge of psychology and pedagogy (didactics) in the educational process of higher education institutions. In the orientation of the educational and professional program of the master of non-pedagogical specialties it is necessary to enter competencies that allow him to engage in teaching activities. General competences add to the ability to carry out pedagogical activities using innovative educational technologies, and special competences add to the ability to organize the educational process and carry out scientific research in order to solve topical problems of the theory, methodology, organization and practice of higher education students. One of the most important compulsory (normative) disciplines that enable the future specialist to teach special and professional disciplines in higher education institutions should be "Didactic of Higher Education". This is the main feature of forming didactic competence in higher education institutions. But the competent approach in higher education does not come down to a separate discipline, but because the phenomenon of integral and dynamic develops in the process of formal, non-formal and informal education and is in constant development and self-development. All stages of preparation of the master of non-pedagogical specialties for teaching activity should be directed on achievement of the main purpose of the educational process — formation of pedagogical competences of applicants of higher education.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7683
Author(s):  
Amila Omazic ◽  
Bernd Markus Zunk

Public sector organizations, primarily higher education institutions (HEIs), are facing greater levels of responsibility since adopting and committing to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (SD) and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). HEIs are expected to provide guidance for various stakeholders on this matter, but also to implement this agenda and the SDGs in their institutions. Although the role of these organizations has been recognized, the fields and issues that HEIs should address on their path towards sustainability and SD are still unclear. To provide further clarity, a semi-systematic literature review on sustainability and SD in HEIs was conducted to identify both the key concepts and main research themes that represent sustainability and SD in HEIs and to identify research gaps. This review increases our knowledge of this topic and enhances our understanding of sustainability and SD in the context of HEIs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-23
Author(s):  
Tilagavati Subramaniam ◽  
Muthu Alagan Thangavelu

Purposes: This paper presents a conceptual framework for teaching sustainable development courses in an online learning environment in institutions of higher education.  Sustainability development courses are becoming essential in higher education institutions mainly to educate the younger generations who will be part of the community to make it happen. Higher education institutions are experiencing dramatic shift to cater a young generation of prospective students, to integrate technical innovations in teaching practices and to concentrate on increasing concerns about global sustainability issues. There has been little research to promote an innovative learning in the teaching of sustainable development. The goal of this paper was to create a framework for teaching sustainable development in a virtual learning environment (blended learning) due to the lack of a conceptual framework that could direct this implementation. Findings: Hence, the blended learning method is eco-friendly, whereby protects global environmental resources. For hands-on experiences, students will develop projects to make their campus and community more sustainable. In the process, students learn how to analyse sustainability and able to apply online learning knowledge into practice. Implication: The conceptual framework proposed will support all educators in higher education institutions engaged in the promotion of quality online education in this pandemic circumstance to develop an effective online practise that are aligned with the corresponding learning needs, skills and facilities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 208 ◽  
pp. 09010
Author(s):  
Ansgar Belke ◽  
Andrei Zenkov ◽  
Larisa Sazanova

Universities and other Higher education institutions are more than ever on the cusp of disruptive and radical changes while struggling to keep their traditional remit from falling entirely into the hands of managers and accountants. This paper examines the role of (higher) education in achieving sustainable development goals and addresses the important changes facing higher education from multiple perspectives and divergent cultural viewpoints.


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