The Implications of Higher Education for Sustainable Development

Dear Colleagues,

The term sustainability appeared as a global concern in 1987—Brundtland Report, by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Increasing attention as been focused upon on its scope which has been open for debate since then, through successive orientations and progressive interest each time by more stakeholders. The term development is far older than the former; it refers, in the sustainability context, to the progress of both all humankind and the whole person. Many scientific advances and practical applications focusing on sustainable development have emerged in recent decades, so Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are now at the center of research. The strategies that we pursue will determine the future of our species in terms of human rights and well-being, social impact, and global benefits, attempting to shape “the future we want” (UNESCO, 2004). Such strategies stem from various factors, such as policies, alliances, entrepreneurship, corporations, business, science, technology, and innovation, among others. However, they require education, knowledge, mind shift, and conscious concern on the global threats, challenges, and transformations that need addressing. No wonder there are surprising global misconceptions about core sustainable development and SDG (https://www.gapminder.org/). In this regard, aggregate education—human capital—improves a country’s ability to innovate and enables ‘technological progress’ and sustained growth (Lindahl and Krueger, 2001). Thus, higher education (HE) is a keystone for achieving SDG (specifically UN Goal 4, Quality education) given its impact on society and the environment. Indeed, the university's contribution to society has been labeled the Third Mission. According to M. Roser and E. Ortiz-Espina (https://ourworldindata.org/), education correlates with prosocial behavior, there is a causal link between education and democratization, and HE attainment fosters a collective sense of civic duty. HE is called to be a driver of those changes by fostering knowledge and competences on sustainable development, connecting them with pedagogical approaches, and expanding the original concepts and professional applications through competences that graduates must reach, regardless of their studied academic program. It seems timely to explore actions that lead to meaningful learning and a review of the university performance rankings concerning sustainable development. STEM vocations, as well as alliances among institutions, are cornerstones to boost transformational changes. Indeed, alliances among universities (e.g., EELISA), HE institutions, enterprises, and corporations can promote training programs and new contributions to world-changing minds and initiatives toward a safer, healthier, and fairer society that masters global challenges with affordable and sustainable solutions.

This Special Issue “Implications of HE for sustainable development” aims at collecting high-quality works about implementations, experiences, and new trends that qualify HE as a driver to sustainable development from a multidisciplinary perspective: economic, social, environmental, personal. The topics of interest encompass the inclusion of teaching approaches, transversal competencies, practices, assessment tools, and future pathways towards competencies in education for sustainable development in all curricula; the efforts and alliances to accomplish the SDG, as well as the new scenario foregrounded by the impact of COVID-19 on the social, ethical, environmental and economic gap.

Prof. Dr. Juan Carlos Mosquera Feijoo
Prof. Dr. Marcos García Alberti
Prof. Dr. Justo García Navarro
Prof. Dr. Fernando Suárez Guerra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• higher education
• educational innovation
• transversal competences
• socially oriented education
• sustainability mind-shift
• challenge-based learning
• Eelisa
• service-learning
• education for sustainable development (ESD)
• sustainable digitalization
• sustainable development goals (SDG)
• sustainable entrepreneurship
• university rankings
• circular economy
• Sustainable Development Indicators