The Transformation of Higher Education Institutions Towards Sustainability from a Systemic Perspective

Giesenbauer, Bror; Tegeler, Merle Katrin

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_39

Cited by 15 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…However, our findings already suggest tensions in this regard. As prior research points to, despite years of international agreements, calls for action and guides for good practices, the implementation of sustainability is still not mainstream within academia [27,28]. Indeed, transforming HEIs toward sustainability has encountered resistance to change pre-established systems due to universities' complex bureaucracy and rigid structures, among others [28].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, transforming HEIs toward sustainability has encountered resistance to change pre-established systems due to universities' complex bureaucracy and rigid structures, among others [28]. Furthermore, the dominance of competition and disciplinary based culture within academia limits and slows efforts in this direction [27,29]. It is argued that HEIs should question these constraints to be able to transform their value systems and worldviews.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The inclusion of external actors, and especially local communities, in processes of critical self-reflection could bring the chance to assess whether discourses and actions are aligned or not and how to improve progress in this regard. There is a perceived need to foster more integrative forms of societal and academic collaboration in the approach of HEIs to sustainability, whereby the combination of inputs from diverse fields may contribute to a better understanding of what sustainability is and means to people [27,32]. This progress might imply a turn of the dominant sustainability paradigm (i.e., "greening") toward a more humanistic approach, which is framed around convivial relationships between nature and humans and sees sustainability as a process rather than just an outcome [36].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What Sustainability? Higher Education Institutions’ Pathways to Reach the Agenda 2030 Goals

2020

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Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have the mandate of promoting sustainability through addressing the Agenda 2030. However, how this is being understood and framed in both discourse and practice by HEIs remains an underexplored issue. This article interrogates the concept of sustainability embraced by ten key HEIs networks at global and regional levels while identifying and discussing the main pathways for action displayed. We rely on HEIs networks' data from available online documents related to the Agenda 2030. "Greening" is the dominant sustainability discourse among the global and many regional HEIs networks, that is, the one that refers to the links between people, planet and profit. Two other discourses are minor and regional, "resilience" and "alternative". The "alternative" discourse is the only one entailing a critical approach to the Agenda 2030 goals. All networks promote changes in HEIs organizational culture to embed sustainability values in strategic planning, academic and managerial work. Yet there is a need for further engagement with society to readdress HEIs societal role. Deep and critical reflection of the worldviews, contradictions and tensions in the discourses and practices proposed by HEIs networks at global and regional scales is also needed to build common pathways toward sustainability.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What Sustainability? Higher Education Institutions’ Pathways to Reach the Agenda 2030 Goals

2020

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“…These are discussed as the main contributions of universities actions towards the 2030 Agenda. The selection of the SDGs was based on the goals with main association to Goal 7 as suggested by Salvia et al (n.d.) with addition of SDG 4, due to its clear connection to higher education institutions (Giesenbauer and Tegeler, 2020;SDG Accord, 2019). Table 3 -Connections among energy sustainability in Teaching and Outreach and some SDGs…”

Section: Teachingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy sustainability in teaching and outreach initiatives and the contribution to the 2030 Agenda

Salvia

Brandli

Filho

et al. 2020

IJSHE

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Purpose Considering the different roles universities can perform to contribute to sustainable development, it is through teaching and outreach that they might be able to connect to the academic and local communities the most. The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which energy sustainability is being considered in campus teaching and outreach activities of different higher education institutions worldwide. In this context, this exploratory study was developed. Design/methodology/approach Through an online survey, a group of 36 universities from all continents was inquired about the level of sustainability in energy aspects of teaching and outreach activities, including curriculum change, training courses for staff and the regularity of outreach projects. Findings The results allowed global analysis concerning challenges and opportunities of these educational activities. This study also touches upon the interconnection between these practices and the contribution of universities towards the 2030 Agenda, and how universities can expand their activities and contribute practically to society. In terms of practical contributions, this study provides recommendations for higher education institutions to develop further in the area of energy sustainability through teaching and outreach. Originality/value Energy is a sustainability aspect relatively well covered by actions on campus operations, but there is a paucity of studies connecting this topic to teaching and outreach activities. This study is an approach to not only fill this gap but also reinforce the university role and contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals.

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“…From educating increasing numbers of students to conducting internationally competitive research, from acquiring grants and even making profits to serving society, from managing large physical campuses to integrating digitalization, from serving the local while keeping an eye on the global, and from supporting excellence in research in disciplinary niches to championing interdisciplinary topics such as sustainable development (SD): HEIs have to react to global trends that are difficult to chase at the same time and that indeed often impose conflicting goals. As the success of HEIs is mostly measured by international rankings and leadership in specialized disciplines, the advancement of cross-cutting topics such as sustainable development is often compromised [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2020

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Higher education institutions (HEIs) could act as pivotal change agents for sustainable development (SD) in times of global climate action. However, HEIs have to respond to increasingly complex demands simultaneously, such as massification, globalization, marketization, and digitalization. Based on Graves’ model of systemic development, this paper discusses two main strategies to deal with increased complexity in order to meet the challenge of SD: (a) Promoting general systemic development of a given HEI, progressively opening up to various stakeholders and focusing on co-creative collaboration, and (b) participating in inter-organizational networks to find inspiration for dealing with challenging trends. Four distinct phases of higher education development are presented. It is argued that transdisciplinary research and research-based learning will increasingly be needed for tackling societal issues and that HEIs should address different organizational subsystems individually. Furthermore, four types of inter-organizational networks are proposed and implications for network management are discussed. A case study of the HOCH-N network illustrates the practical application of the presented ideas. Finally, adopting a multi-dimensional and networked organizational model as an integrative University 4.0 is argued to be suitable for increasing the capacity to deal with complexity, thus meeting the challenge of sustainable development.

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The Transformation of Higher Education Institutions Towards Sustainability from a Systemic Perspective

Cited by 15 publications

References 15 publications

What Sustainability? Higher Education Institutions’ Pathways to Reach the Agenda 2030 Goals

What Sustainability? Higher Education Institutions’ Pathways to Reach the Agenda 2030 Goals

Energy sustainability in teaching and outreach initiatives and the contribution to the 2030 Agenda

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

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