Document Type

Article

Disciplines

5.3 EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES

Publication Details

In Re-imagining higher education through equity, inclusion and sustainability (RISE). Proceedings of the 2nd. EUt+ International Conference on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Technical University of Sofia, Sozopol, Bulgaria, 1-3 September.

doi: 10.21427/pqq1-1q52

Abstract

The United Nations 2030 Agenda unfolded a comprehensive package of Sustainable Development Goals that seek global cooperation, participation, and coordinated efforts to 2030 for the betterment of humanity within the ecological constraints of the planet. However, it has become evident that the agenda is very ambitious and afflicted by a lack of solid governance principles vital to ensuring the successful achievement of the goals and targets. This paper offers critical insights into the pivotal role of higher education in promoting and implementing the goals. We argue that there is a need to raise awareness of the goals and educate relevant stakeholders on how to coordinate their efforts to respond to the complexities associated with achieving sustainability. We find that higher education institutions are poised to play a more relevant and influential role, but to do so, they need to engage in a bold educational transformation process. Given that the achievement of the goals is predicated on collaboration between multiple actors, ranging from governments, businesses, non-governmental organisations, civil society, researchers, academics, and students, specific actions within higher education must focus on the circularity of the education model. Moreover, stakeholders need to work together to address the numerous failures associated with governance if they seek to achieve meaningful change and progress around sustainability issues. Therefore, we argue that HEIs need to rethink and reconsider their educational models to update their leadership role in achieving the 2030 Agenda and beyond.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21427/at9g-v230

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

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