Wicked problems: university research topic convergence despite divergence in local educational and innovation policies

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to determine how sustainable development (SD) demands (according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) SD themes from 2005) are connected to the contents of education, research, development and innovation (RDI) in higher education institutions (HEI). Education and the RDI nexus may affect HEI’s capability to handle SD-related wicked problems and enhance their societal impact. Design/methodology/approach This paper examined SD-oriented curricula contents of two universities (Brazil and Finland) and counted the number of SD-related research outcomes. In addition, conceptual modelling was used to analyse the mechanisms that may be directing HEIs’ SD work in local innovation. Findings The data showed a convergence deviation in the RDI of SD-related subjects between the two HEIs. There was no correlation between SD-oriented education and RDI-work in either HEI. Education and RDI processes have different UNECE SD themes at the focal point, and the education-research nexus is lacking. This difference indicates that new SD-related knowledge produced through RDI was not effectively used in education. Modelling revealed that the convergence in RDI outcomes arose from the same kind of local business, industry and societal challenges, implementing effective stakeholder pressures into HEIs. The results may indicate that stakeholder SD needs were not directly transferred into the competence qualification of the curriculum. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to reveal the independence of universities’ SD-related RDI subjects on educational curricula.

Higher Education Challenges: Developing Skills to Address Contemporary Economic and Sustainability Issues

“…The most significant feature of the obtained results is multi-disciplinarity, which resonates with the often discussed role of higher education in addressing the wicked problems of the 21st century, including the sustainable development, innovation, and production of human capital for the contemporary economy and society [37][38][39]. A multidisciplinary approach to research and transboundary education is required to deal with these challenges to the modern society [40], which is especially valuable when dealing with crises, such as those encountered in the last five years in the EU-more specifically, with the massive inflow of migrants [41], COVID-related economic challenges [42], and other relevant issues.…”

Sustainable Development Goals and Education: A Bibliometric Review—The Case of Latin America

“…Finally, the yellow cluster includes curriculum-related issues. Here, for example, the areas of sustainability that are prioritized by the Chilean school curriculum [5], the content of curricula oriented to sustainable development [68], and the degree of curricular environmentalization in undergraduate courses at a Brazilian university [69] are addressed.…”

Building a sustainable future: ideas and perceptions of university staff

“…The studies have shown differences by discipline, while the mainstream seems to be multi- and transdisciplinarity, which points to combinations of SDGs (De Welde, 2015). The thin nexus between education and RDI and the scant research on transdisciplinarity are two major challenges met by those who attempt to solve complex wicked problems related to SD (Wals, 2014; Annala and Mäkinen, 2017; Greig and Priddle, 2019; Friman et al , 2021). According to Waas et al (2010), monodisciplinary research on SD is still needed, but its connections with sustainability are important.…”