Smart practices in HEIs and the contribution to the SDGs: implementation in Brazilian university

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liane Dalla Gasperina ◽  
Janaina Mazutti ◽  
Luciana Londero Brandli ◽  
Roberto dos Santos Rabello
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Infrastructure Management ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainability Research ◽  
Development Goals

Purpose Smart campuses can be seen as the future of higher education efforts, especially for their contributions to sustainability and to encourage innovation. This paper aims to present the benefits of smart practices in a Higher Education Institutions and highlights its connections to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Design/methodology/approach The methodology is divided into three steps: first, an international search and assessment of smart practices at universities; second, the identification of smart practices in a university campus in southern Brazil; and third, the presentation of the benefits of smart practices and their relationship with the SDGs. Findings The results showed that globally, the area most covered by smart practices in universities is the environment and, specifically, focused on waste reduction. in the context of this case study, the benefits of implementing smart practices mainly reach SDGs 4 and SDG 9, especially due to aspects of teaching technologies for the new classroom models and the optimization of campus infrastructure management. Practical implications The study encourages other universities to implement smart practices in their campuses, to becoming smart campuses while they also collaborate in achieving the SDGs while raising the discussion on the importance of committed actions taken on a university campus with the UN SDGs, to leverage synergies on campus operations at universities. Originality/value This paper presents a set of smart practices that universities are applying both globally and locally (in southern Brazil). In addition, it contributes to sustainability research by showing how smart practices have the potential to promote SDGs in universities, especially through campus operations.

scholarly journals Teaching for a Better World. Sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals in the Construction of a Change-Maker University

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 4224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Zamora-Polo ◽  
Jesús Sánchez-Martín
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Primary Teacher ◽  
Practical Consideration ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Development Goals

Sustainability, as a key concept in the education field, has submitted a relevant change during the last years. Thus, there is a growing debate about its meaning. It has undergone a crucial merging of significances from many fields: Ecology, environmental awareness, but also from politics, ethics or even spiritual approaches. All these fields have been co-involved in the building of such subject concept. In this sense, this article addresses the different ways of understanding sustainability as a polyhedral concept and how sustainability can be understood under the umbrella of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, it is proposed a conceptual framework to teach this UN Program at Higher Education, contributing to the training of undergraduate and postgraduate students from both a professional and a personal point of view. This framework is applied in a case study—in particular, in a course of Primary Teacher Degree called Didactics of Matter and Energy. This article finishes with practical consideration to build a change-maker University.

scholarly journals “Future-proof your Degree”

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1329-1342
Author(s):  
Fiona Winfield ◽  
Tabani Ndlovu
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
The Past ◽  
Postgraduate Level ◽  
Sustainability Literacy ◽  
Development Goals

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of how a UK business school has explicitly linked sustainability to employability and embedded these into all levels of its undergraduate and postgraduate degree portfolio. Design/methodology/approach This case study features Nottingham Business School’s (NBS’s) journey of linking sustainability with employability to achieve the University’s strategic objectives and help deliver on the sustainable development goals (SDGs). After reviewing all courses, a cross-school approach was adopted in re-designing the curriculum, first at undergraduate and later postgraduate level. Partnerships, both internal and external were developed, involving the employability and enterprise teams, the University’s students and alumni, local employers, local authorities and businesses and charities. Feedback from graduates is included. Findings When NBS introduced new undergraduate modules in 2012, there was resistance with concerns over already crammed curricula and the perceived irrelevance of sustainability. This changed as students realised that an understanding of sustainability was benefiting them at interviews and adding value to their employers. While it cannot be proved that increased self-awareness and sustainability literacy have a direct effect on graduate prospects (as measured by the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey), NBS has seen the percentage of students in graduate level employment and/or study increase from 71 to 89.6 per cent over the past five years. Originality/value Linking sustainability to employability, and embedding these in the curriculum, should benefit any institution, its students, employers and society, and can be replicated anywhere in the world.

Putting sustainable campuses into force

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 470-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maik Adomßent ◽  
Anselm Grahl ◽  
Felix Spira
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Go Model ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Limited Scope

Purpose The lack of change structures can be seen as an important reason why sustainability continues to suffer a niche existence in most higher education organisations. This is a problem because universities can leverage their teaching, research and operations to advance solutions to climate change, hunger and other Sustainable Development Goals. The purpose of this study is to highlight the vital importance of self-efficacy approaches, in particular the Green Office (GO) Model that aims to strengthen collaboration among all members of higher education communities and provides inspiration for what a sustainability office on campus might look like. Design/methodology/approach The research presented follows a two-step methodology. First, the peculiarities and commonalities of already existing GOs were analysed to better understand drivers and barriers for their institutionalisation. Building on this, a peer-to-peer digital training programme was developed and tested, aiming to provide students, staff and academics with knowledge and skills to establish more sustainability offices and improve the work of existing ones. Findings Research revealed three main obstacles for the dissemination of the GO model: lack of adaptation of international experiences to other university contexts, missing educational offers and a limited scope of public relations. The findings adduce proof that GO provides a replicable model that can be both adapted to different university contexts and scaled internationally. Research limitations/implications This research has been limited by the availability and ability to procure information from the sampled universities’ actors beyond the close GO community. Originality/value This case study presents an original research and development undertaking that was realised in a unique collaboration between a non-profit, student-initiated social business and an academic institution.

scholarly journals The growth of cyber entrepreneurship in the food industry: virtual community engagement in the COVID-19 era

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rana Tajvidi ◽  
Mina Tajvidi
Keyword(s):  
Community Engagement ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Development Goals

PurposeThe sustainable development goals are the plans to accomplish a recovering and more sustainable future for all. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenges are more for achieving these goals by entrepreneurship. With the pandemic challenges, new technological advancements have become the foundation of an emerging form of entrepreneurship known as cyber entrepreneurship. Although a small segment of burgeoning literature on this topic has been recently tended to study cyber entrepreneurship, it offers only a partial understanding of those concepts, especially for community engagement in the food industry during the pandemic. This paper aims to explore cyber entrepreneurship in the food industry and its opportunities for entrepreneurs in epidemics such as COVID-19.Design/methodology/approachThis study using a case study approach identifies and explores the fundamental aspects of cyber entrepreneurship. This study employs empirical research with a holistic overview of the existing literature to define the different forms of entrepreneurship in the current digital age, focusing on COVID-19 implications for cyber entrepreneurship.FindingsThe result of this paper provides a better understanding of a new form of entrepreneurship in cyberspace as innovative practice for firms. This study reveals that cyber entrepreneurship can develop community engagement during pandemic circumstances, such as COVID-19 in the food industry.Originality/valueThis research demonstrates entrepreneurial processes around sustainable business behaviours by focusing on community engagement. It opens a window into the exploration of cyber entrepreneurship in the food industry.

Advancing SDG competencies in higher education: exploring an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Alm ◽  
Maria Melén ◽  
Caroline Aggestam-Pontoppidan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Key Competencies ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Cherry Picking ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Development Of Students

Purpose This study aims to explore an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach for advancing knowledge and understanding of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) at higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study conducted an explorative experiment to elaborate on forms to advance a pedagogical approach that embeds sustainability. The design of the pedagogical project was explorative and interdisciplinary, using a predefined framework on key competencies for sustainability. Findings The findings showed that an interdisciplinary approach can create a learning setting that stimulates students’ problem-solving competencies for sustainability-related issues. Students were trained in the five key sustainable competencies addressed by Wiek et al. (2011). Moreover, although it is not always possible to arrange an interdisciplinary pedagogical setting, this might be a key condition for the development of students’ key competencies regarding their understanding of the SDGs. Addressing the SDGs from an interdisciplinary perspective paved the way for the development of students’ strategic competencies, including systems thinking and anticipatory competencies. Practical implications The pedagogical project, as an interdisciplinary explorative experiment, was shown to be a potentially suitable method to counteract “cherry-picking” approaches to teaching the SDGs at HEI. Originality/value The pedagogical approach advanced in this paper, extends active learning and interdisciplinarity in higher education. The authors argue that this approach encourages students to take ownership of and responsibility for their learning process and indicates a changed mindset and behavior.

Higher education in Japan: internationalization, the Sustainable Development Goals and survivability

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachi Edwards ◽  
Akemi Ashida
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Higher Education Internationalization

PurposeThis paper reviews the national and institutional internationalization activities in Japan's higher education sector and considers the extent to which these efforts have attempted to incorporate and/or contribute to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachThis paper was developed based on a review of available demographic data on internationalization in Japan (in both English and Japanese), a survey of recent scholarly literature on this topic and conversations with numerous faculty and staff members working on internationalization issues in a wide range of higher education institutions throughout the country.FindingsThere are substantial internationalization efforts being made at both national and institutional levels, yet scholars and practitioners of higher education question the extent to which genuine internationalization is occurring. Moreover, the metrics used to track internationalization are somewhat limited and the available data, in many cases, can be complicated to interpret. A bit of tension also exists in Japanese universities between those who support the movement to internationalize and those who see it as a passing fad, an intrusion on their academic freedom and/or as a guise for Westernization – a tension that some cite, along with language barriers and system misalignment, as a challenge to internationalization.Originality/valueNumerous scholars discuss the internationalization of higher education in Japan. The originality of this paper is in the comparison of Japan's higher education internationalization efforts to the movement to achieve the SDGs – both in Japan and as a global effort.

scholarly journals The COVID-19 pandemic and the growing need to train engineers aligned to the sustainable development goals

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1269-1275
Author(s):  
Rosley Anholon ◽  
Izabela Simon Rampasso ◽  
Diogo A.L. Silva ◽  
Walter Leal Filho ◽  
Osvaldo Luiz Gonçalves Quelhas
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Engineering Education ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Current Period ◽  
Sustainability Research ◽  
Development Goals

Purpose Considering the requirements of sustainable development regarding professionals training and the challenges evidenced during Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, this study aims to contribute to the debates regarding the need to insert sustainability into engineering education in the current context. Design/methodology/approach For this, the literature about sustainability in engineering education was considered, and the need for sustainability insertion in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic was debated. It is important to emphasize that this debate was based on the authors’ experience regarding sustainability research and teaching. Findings The current moment unveiled companies’ financial management problems, constantly evidenced by media. In this sense, the interest of engineering students in business management may lead them to believe that companies’ survival depends only on financial aspects, neglecting environmental and social aspects. This study is characterized as a reminder to academic staff in the field of engineering to continue valuing the principles of sustainable development with their students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value The need to make engineering students understand the importance of social projects in the current period is emphasized. The training of professionals to consider all the sustainability aspects even during crisis moments is evidenced now and should be used as a learning lesson for the future.

Universities as the engine of transformational sustainability toward delivering the sustainable development goals

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1343-1357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Maria Purcell ◽  
Heather Henriksen ◽  
John D. Spengler
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Living Lab ◽  
Development Goals

Purpose Universities can do more to deliver against the sustainable development goals (SDGs), working with faculty, staff and students, as well as their wider stakeholder community and alumni body. They play a critical role in helping shape new ways for the world, educating global citizens and delivering knowledge and innovation into society. Universities can be engines of societal transformation. Using a multiple case study approach, this study aims to explore different ways of strategizing sustainability toward delivering the SDGs are explored in a university setting with an example from the UK, Bulgaria (Europe) and USA. Design/methodology/approach The first case is a public UK university that adopted enterprise and sustainability as its academic mission to secure differentiation in a disrupted and increasingly marketized global higher education sector; this became a source of inspiration for change in regional businesses and the local community. The second case is a business sector-led sustainability-driven transformation working with a private university in Bulgaria to catalyze economic regeneration and social innovation. Finally, a case from the office for sustainability in a major US research university is given to show how its engagement program connected faculty and students in sustainability projects within the institution and with external partners. Findings Each case is in effect a “living lab,” positioning sustainability as an intentional and aspirational strategy with sustainable development and the SDG framework a means to that end. Leadership at all levels, and by students, was key to success in acting with a shared purpose. Partnerships within and with universities can help accelerate delivery of the SDGs, enabling higher education to make a fuller contribution to sustaining the economic, environmental, cultural and intellectual well-being of our global communities. Originality/value The role of universities as the engine of transformational sustainability toward delivering the SDGs has been explored by way of three case studies that highlight different means toward that end. The collegiate nature of the higher education sector, with its shared governance models and different constituencies and performance drivers, means that sustainability at a strategic level must be led with leaders at all levels acting with purpose. The “living lab” model can become a part of transformative institutional change that draws on both top-down and bottom-up strategies in pursuit of sustainable development.

Putting sustainability research into practice on the university campus

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-75
Author(s):  
Maarten B. Eppinga ◽  
Jenny Lozano-Cosme ◽  
Tobia de Scisciolo ◽  
Patrick Arens ◽  
Maria J. Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Small Island ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
The University

Purpose Despite increasing efforts to incorporate sustainability in curricula and practices of institutions of higher education, effective implementation remains challenging. The purpose of this study is to present an approach to incorporate sustainability into a practice-oriented research skills course, which was implemented at a small island state university in the Caribbean. Design/methodology/approach First-year university students followed a four-week course module, starting with the introduction of the sustainable development goals, and culminating in a symposium in which the students present the findings of their research projects to the campus community. Pre-course module and post-course module surveys measured the students’ knowledge and perceptions regarding sustainability. These survey results were also compared with the result of a similar survey held for the university’s employees. Findings The survey results suggested that following the course module increased students’ knowledge about sustainable development, as well as their support for the university campus and its community putting more emphasis on teaching, practicing and encouraging sustainability. Interestingly, university employees scored significantly higher on the latter component than students, suggesting that in this case a lack of interest of the staff is not a barrier toward a sustainable campus. Originality/value The presented course module offers a novel and low-cost approach to introducing sustainability into a broad range of academic curricula, specifically tailored to the needs of institutes of higher education in small island states. The survey results suggest that this type of education may not only ensure reaching academic goals but also increase students’ interest in sustainable development within their local environment.

scholarly journals Are the sustainable development goals being implemented in the Portuguese higher education formative offer?

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Marta Aleixo ◽  
Ulisses M. Azeiteiro ◽  
Susana Leal
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Master's Degrees ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Portuguese Higher Education

Purpose The study aims to examine the vertical integration of the sustainable development goals (SGDs) in Portuguese public higher education institutions, namely, at the level of undergraduate and master’s degrees, and the extent to which Portuguese higher education institutions (HEI) are preparing for the United Nations’ call to promote SDGs. Design/methodology/approach A content analysis of the designations and objectives of the 2,556 undergraduate and master’s degrees (in 33 Portuguese public higher education institutions) was done to determine whether they promote at least one SDG. Findings The results show that 198 courses directly address at least one SDG; on average, each higher education institution (HEI) has six courses that explicitly address at least one SDG; universities have more courses in SDG areas than in polytechnics; more master’s degrees embrace SDGs than undergraduate degrees; and most of the courses addressing SDGs are from the social sciences and humanities areas and from natural and environmental sciences. Originality/value This paper serves to raise the awareness of Portuguese HEIs of their role and responsibility in furthering SGDs.

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