University 4.0: Promoting the Transformation of Higher Education Institutions toward Sustainable Development

Giesenbauer, Bror; Müller-Christ, Georg

doi:10.3390/su12083371

Cited by 100 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 65 publications

(106 reference statements)

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“…As institutions of education and research, universities have the potential to be "pivotal change agents" in catalysing transitions towards sustainability (Giesenbauer and Müller-Christ, 2020), and over 200 universities have signed the SDG Accord, the HE sector's "collective response" to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG Accord, 2021). The sector's efforts towards sustainability have focused primarily on three areas:…”

Section: Introduction: Emergency On Planet Earthmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Publications to Public Actions: The Role of Universities in Facilitating Academic Advocacy and Activism in the Climate and Ecological Emergency

Gardner¹,

Thierry²,

Rowlandson³

et al. 2021

Front. Sustain.

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Thousands of universities have made climate emergency declarations; however the higher education sector is not rising to the collective challenge with the urgency commensurate with scientific warnings. Universities are promoting an increased focus on sustainability through their research, teaching and their own institutional footprints. However, we suggest that such initiatives will be insufficient to catalyse the required transformations in our societies and economies because of (i) the time lags inherent in education and research pathways to impact, and (ii) their failure to address either real-world political processes or the forces invested in maintaining the status quo. We therefore suggest that academics should move from publications to public actions and engage in advocacy and activism to affect urgent and transformational change. We discuss the barriers to engagement in advocacy that academics face, and propose a number of actions that universities should adopt to help overcome them. These include explicitly recognising advocacy as part of the work mandate of academic staff by altering work allocation models, facilitating engaged research sabbaticals, altering hiring and promotion policies, and providing training to enhance the effectiveness of engagement. In addition, universities must defend the right of academics to engage in protest and push back against emerging threats to academic freedom. Such actions would strengthen a rich tradition of academic protest and enhance the contribution of universities to the public good in areas well beyond sustainability, for example race and social justice (Black Lives Matter, decolonising education) and public health.

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Section: Introduction: Emergency On Planet Earthmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Publications to Public Actions: The Role of Universities in Facilitating Academic Advocacy and Activism in the Climate and Ecological Emergency

Gardner¹,

Thierry²,

Rowlandson³

et al. 2021

Front. Sustain.

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“…Over the last years, an important amount of empiric evidence [25][26][27] has revealed the importance of using the ICTs not only at academic level, but also from a global viewpoint. All that, with the intention of promoting through the same a more sustainable education.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Technological Challenge Facing Higher Education Professors: Perceptions of ICT Tools for Developing 21st Century Skills

et al. 2020

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To consider that some quality teaching-learning processes in the Higher Education is practically unthinkable without the use of technology, especially because of its impact in developing the necessary skills and abilities for the 21st century. (1) Background: One of the initial steps to successfully approach this challenge is to analyze how university professors consider that ICTs can contribute to developing skills and abilities in their students. In this regard, their perceptions are one of the factors that will limit the use they make of these tools. (2) Method: For this reason, a quantitative research has been designed in which 345 university professors have participated for different branches of knowledge of one Spanish university. (3) Results: Among the most relevant results, we can highlight that the professors recognize the potentials of the ICTs and consider they have a positive effect on learning and development of 21st century skills in their students. These benefits are seen in different fields like communication, collaboration, and critical thinking, among others. Likewise, the importance of the technology culture teaching role is outstanding. (4) Conclusions: Finally, the need for integration of ICTs in a pedagogical model in which professor training in digital skills acquires relevance is shown.

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“…This resistance can be explained by the fact that people are usually unwilling to change their attitudes and values. In other words, the reason probably lies in internal complexity, since SD requires systemic transformation, and not just adaptation [19,20]. The university does not function in isolation from the external environment.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers paid attention to the issues of the introduction of the sustainable development concept in university actions [20,22,23]. The authors agree that introducing the concept of sustainable development at the university requires an integrated approach, which includes both the active participation of the university leadership (inclusion of SD in the mission and strategy, the creation of special departments, budget allocation, etc.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Universities as an Essential Element of Education for Sustainable Development

Tretyakova

Kotomina

2020

E3S Web Conf.

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The concept of sustainable development (SD) is aimed at preserving life on Earth and ensuring a decent level of life for the present and future generations. It is based on the values of conservation of natural resources, responsible consumption and ethical business practices, and confronts modern global challenges. The transition to SD implies a revision of existing values in the economics, ecology and social life of society. In this regard, education plays the most important role because it is responsible for the formation of the attitudes of the younger generation, and progress in the transformation of formal and informal institutional frameworks.In order to realize these processes, The UN has developed the global program “Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)” and formulated one of the specialized goals in the system of seventeen sustainable development goals approved by the UN for 2016-2030. Higher education plays a special role there, since it not only creates and disseminates knowledge about SD, but also influences the process of making future decisions by managers of various levels. In this context, the concept of “sustainable university” is becoming highly relevant and the experience of its practical implementation is gaining special importance.The purpose of this work is to overview the research papers of Russian and foreign authors to identify the specific features of a sustainable university as a necessary element of ESD.

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University 4.0: Promoting the Transformation of Higher Education Institutions toward Sustainable Development

Cited by 100 publications

References 65 publications

From Publications to Public Actions: The Role of Universities in Facilitating Academic Advocacy and Activism in the Climate and Ecological Emergency

From Publications to Public Actions: The Role of Universities in Facilitating Academic Advocacy and Activism in the Climate and Ecological Emergency

The Technological Challenge Facing Higher Education Professors: Perceptions of ICT Tools for Developing 21st Century Skills

Sustainable Universities as an Essential Element of Education for Sustainable Development

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