A sustainable university must educate its academic collaborators and its interest groups, focusing on the key dimensions, such as economic growth, respect for the environment and carrying out energy saving measures, and efficiency and reuse of resources. The aim of this research is to show the tendencies of postgraduate courses in the training of human talent for “Sustainable Development” based on grounded theory. The methodology is approached from the qualitative naturalistic perspective, where the hermeneutic analysis procedure is structured in five phases with data from nine countries obtained from 20 interviews conducted in the year 2021. For this, a dialogical intervention has been used through the complementary experiences of rectors, deans and specialists with doctoral degrees who are immersed in postgraduate programmes in Latin American and Spanish universities, safeguarding the identity under ethical criteria. The main findings show that this human capital that forms part of the universities through their postgraduate programmes is currently considering redesigning their educational programmes to contribute to sustainable development, not only academically but also through their educational model. The main evidence shows that today more than ever there is a need for change, a need for a new human resource that responds and aims for a triple balance: environmental, economic and social.

As the world faces progressive and interconnected global crises and conflicts, the educational expectations set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are in jeopardy. With the COVID-19 pandemic in its third year, the war in Ukraine has exacerbated the food, energy, humanitarian, and refugee crises, all against the backdrop of an unfolding climate emergency. The aim of this research is to analyse the challenges faced by postgraduate programmes in training human talent for sustainable development on the basis of Grounded Theory. To do so, we have used a dialogical intervention through the complementary experiences of authorities of higher-education institutions that live day by day for a fair, quality, and sustainable education. With a naturalistic qualitative method, where the hermeneutic analysis procedure is structured in five phases, and with data from key informants from 9 countries, 20 interviews are obtained with key informants in Latin American and Spanish universities during 2021, according to inclusion criteria such as: belonging to a higher-education institution, with a doctorate degree, with more than 10 years of experience in management, and training in postgraduate programmes. The data are processed through ATLAS.ti9, which allows for the analysis of the key informants’ discourses. The findings show that the university institutions that currently offer postgraduate programmes are considering improving the quality of education; the first challenge is to redesign the curricula according to the demands of the current and future world, incorporating technological resources and knowledge of the environment; inter- and transdisciplinary curricula that form enterprising postgraduates with a solid ethical life project; critical, complex, and systemic thinking.

Although the pandemic is still with us and COVID-19 continues to saturate the news, everyone has abundant reasons to travel, whether it be physical and mental exhaustion from prolonged shutdowns, vaccine tourism, family reunions, long-awaited vacations, summer in the southern hemisphere, school break or year-end holidays. The main purpose of this research was to examine and understand the main motivations that lead consumers to attend national events as part of their local tourism activities. Through interviews, we have therefore collected the complementary experiences of specialists who work day-in-day-out to encourage local, quality and sustainable tourism. Using a naturalistic qualitative methodology, our hermeneutic analysis is structured in five phases and based on data—of a social nature—from public and private institutions which believe in endurable tourism. In order to validate these results and for them to be considered by other institutions and other countries when modifying and proposing activities to maintain sustainable tourism, the interviewees had to be representatives of public and private institutions and national tourists who have worked and attended the celebrations of the end of the year 2021 in this region of Chile. Our main conclusions from the analyzed units show that these types of local events enhance local tourism and lead to sustainable political, economic, social, and ecological activities.