Sustainability in higher education

Universities and higher education institutions need to sever ties with oil companies and get their ethics in order if they want to tackle the SDGs

Universities aren’t walking the walk on sustainability – not even close

While HEIs continue to take tens of millions of pounds from oil companies, their integrity and commitment to the SDGs looks shaky at best, says James Derounian

James Derounian

Visiting professor

Scientists and academics must practise humility and empathy when communicating with the public over issues such as climate change

We’ve forgotten how to communicate science to the public at a crucial time

As we try to tackle climate change, it feels like the pandemic has pushed us back decades to the bad old mode of scientists lecturing the public, says John Womersley

John Womersley

University of Oxford

International HE collaborations can help progress towards the SDGs in this Decade of Action

International partnerships drive SDG progress – how do we support them?

Diverse partnerships encompassing various sectors and organisations help mobilise resources and encourage collaboration that can address societal challenges more efficiently

Joanna Newman, Maddalaine Ansell

The Association of Commonwealth Universities, British Council

Advice on collaborating with student activists to improve institutional sustainability

Working with student activists to speed up progress towards a sustainable future

Jaime Toney explains how working with grassroots student activists can help accelerate institutional action towards the Sustainable Development Goals

Jaime Toney

University of Glasgow

Advice on bringing institutions together in international collaborations designed to address the SDGs

‘Embrace messiness’: how to broker global partnerships to tackle the Sustainable Development Goals

Annelise Riles and Meghan Ozaroski share advice on bringing universities around the world together to address global problems, such as climate change, by investing in relationships, thinking long-term and working around inevitable bumps

Annelise Riles, Meghan Ozaroski

Northwestern University

Advice on driving institutional action towards net zero

Accelerating towards net zero emissions: how to mobilise your university on climate action

John Madden provides insight on how universities can mobilise their intellectual and institutional capacities to accelerate towards net zero emissions

John Madden

University of British Columbia

Advice on embedding sustainable development into university curricula by aligning it with core subject learning outcomes

Match sustainability learning outcomes to specific curricula to achieve SDG 4.7

Ron Johnston provides a guide to embedding education for sustainable development into university courses by linking it with the learning outcomes of the core subject being taught

Ron Johnston

UNESCO

Podcast discussing building resilience and protecting well-being among university staff and students

THE podcast: how NYU and the University of São Paulo are thinking about climate change

Ahead of COP26, leaders at NYU and São Paulo spoke with us about how universities can be leaders in tackling the climate crisis and what they hope the summit achieves

Katherine Fleming, Tercio Ambrizzi

New York University, University of São Paulo

Advice on creating short online courses that help drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals

Three steps to designing online learning that supports a sustainable future

Lizzy Garner-Foy offers practical guidance on how to plan, design and develop open, accessible online learning materials that support work towards the SDGs

Lizzy Garner-Foy

The University of Edinburgh

Students are demanding action from higher education universities on climate change now

Students demand action on the climate crisis now – not later

COP26 is the world’s best – and perhaps last – chance to get runaway climate change under control, and to reach net zero HE needs to act swiftly, says Manveer Gill

Manveer Gill

Climate Commission for UK Higher and Further Education

Advice on using online tools to teach students about sustainability

Supporting student action on sustainability

Students want opportunities to develop skills and knowledge to address sustainability issues. Matthew Lawson describes how sustainability can be embedded into the student experience

Matthew Lawson

The University of Edinburgh

Sustainability needs to be taught but also embraced by universities as students become ever more concerned

Prepare for student sustainability demands to go through the roof

Students will be the driving force behind universities finally being held accountable and made to practise what they preach on climate change, says Andreas Kaplan

Andreas Kaplan

ESCP Business School

Webinar discussion how to reduce student drop out rates in the context of the pandemic and online learning

Behavioural change for sustainable development

Four European academics explore how universities can encourage positive behaviour change among students in line with the Sustainable Development Goals

Thijs Bosker, Khatereh Ghasemzadeh, Marc Le Menestrel, Jakob Stoustrup

Leiden University, University of Bologna, INSEAD , Aalborg University

Advice on fostering interdisciplinary research collaborations early in your academic career

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: investing in early career interdisciplinarity

Three PhD students share tips for embracing an interdisciplinary approach to research from the start of one’s academic career to aid progress towards tackling the Sustainable Development Goals

Roxanne Keynejad, Poushali Ganguli, Manisha Yapa

King’s College London, UNSW Sydney

Webinar discussion how to reduce student drop out rates in the context of the pandemic and online learning

How to embed the SDGs into your online teaching and learning

Academics and experts in sustainability look at how universities can harness online teaching to advance the aims of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals

Fernando Reimers, Natalie Kopytko, Tara Ivanochko

Harvard University, University of Leeds, University of British Columbia

Philosophy and other humanities are at the heart of making sustainability work on a national and international scale

Social sciences, humanities and arts are critical for sustainability

The neglect of social sciences, humanities and arts is at the heart of why the shift to sustainability has been slow − and why it may eventually fail, say Eric Neumayer and Charles Joly

Eric Neumayer, Charles Joly

The London School of Economics and Political Science

How online education platforms can facilitate progress to address the sustainability development goals

How to ensure online education is a clear win for the SDGs

Online teaching offers many opportunities to drive education and awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals. Ellen Touchstone explains how

Ellen Touchstone

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Using the SDGs as a lens through which to teach multiple topics and subjects

How to teach through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals

Terry Sunderland offers insight on how the Sustainable Development Goals can provide a useful framework to guide students’ learning across multiple disciplines

Terry Sunderland

University of British Columbia

How to use group participation activities which are used in stakeholder engagement projects in order to teach a better understanding of sustainability issues

We are not alone: using participatory group activities to engage students in sustainability

Natalie Kopytko and Susannah Sallu detail how participatory activities used for stakeholder engagement can help motivate students to learn about sustainability online

Natalie Kopytko, Susannah Sallu

University of Leeds

How to use digital communications to speed the spread of ideas and knowledge

Using digital technology to assist the spread of knowledge and ideas about the SDGs

Gisela Loehlein on how digital communications can assist in spreading knowledge and awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals, through virtual global events and building connections between experts and institutions all over the world

Gisela Loehlein

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

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