Agents of change 

　　Proactive Universities and their roles in achieving

　　the Sustainable Development Goals.

　　By Mehri Madarshahi

　　president@cultureisglobal.org

　　A former senior United Nations economic officer and a member of the Advisory Committee of ICCSD

On November 30th, the 19th Asian University Presidents Forum (AUPF) was successfully held both online and offline, themed on Cooperation and Development of Asian Higher Education in the New Circumstances. As one of the guest speakers, Mehri Madarshahi delivered her keynote speech focusing on Strategies for a Better World at Universities.

The fact that the world today has the highest number of “educated” people in its history and yet is nearest to an ecological breakdown is a stark reminder that more of the same kind of education can only compound our problems.  For the first time in 30 years, today poverty is rising. Human development Indicators (HDI) are declining and we are careening off track in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the world’s fragilities. It is not far from the truth to say that this pandemic shook the foundations of our world and our principles to the core. COVID-19 was not only a wake-up call but it seems as a dress rehearsal for the world of challenges to come.

Thus, one of the main questions is how to transform our institutions of higher learning from research and traditional educations to more proactive entities ready to face new and unexpected challenges in this century. This may be a complex task since the nature of the world and its expectations from universities have shifted from predictable to unpredictable.

One such task is to entrust the leading role in the research, planning and implementation of the SDGs to universities. While universities are considered the primary institutions for the dissemination of knowledge and could be a key player in the attainment of these goals, after five years of approval of the SDGs by the UN General Assembly, they still continue to detail the steps to be taken for their implementation. The pace of progress has not been adequate and as attested by the latest United Nations report  “the rate of progress in many areas of the SDGs is far slower than needed to meet the targets by 2030”. 

The main question is, therefore, how universities, particularly those in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), can assume a proactive and leading role in achieving these objectives? One factor is fostering partnerships with governments and communities that recently is gaining prominence as the mission of universities is gradually moving towards a ‘third mission’ meaning to attain societal impact.

The SDGs can provide a unique opportunity for universities and the scientific community in general to re-interpret institutional strategies and determine the structures and mechanisms needed to strengthen engagement with governments and communities. A collaborative governance structure would enhance opportunities for exchange and integration across both portfolios.

Worldwide, some universities have started to come on board with the SDGs, prompted by United Nations-supported initiatives such as the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative, the Principles of Responsible Management Education initiative, and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Through these policy directives, the role of universities and their capacities to generate, translate and disseminate knowledge relevant to achieving the SDGs have been underlined. The policy-makers and other stakeholders are encouraged to identify policy priorities/problems, assess policy options, implement solutions and evaluate policies using the reservoirs of knowledge at universities. Particularly important is the fact that universities can help translate the SDGs into measurable and country-specific targets by actively matching academic capital with public policy priorities and making knowledge and resources readily available to the government and community.

Universities can also initiate and facilitate dialogue across multiple actors, including governments, the private sector, the academic and scientific community, civil society and the public. Dialogue can help ensure commitment to and strengthen implementation of the SDGs, as well as promote the political accountability needed to attain them.  They can organize, synergize and coordinate lobbying and advocacy activities to influence and shape public policy. At the same time, governments and other key players must ensure that universities are central in the relevant discussions and could become responsible for training and shaping the future leaders of sustainable development. By integrating the SDGs into curricula, they can provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to address them.

The role of higher education is highlighted in the fourth SDG, which calls for inclusive and equitable quality education. However, education and research are explicitly recognized in a number of the SDGs and the universities are considered to have a direct role in addressing all issues. To play such a leading role in the actualization of the 2030 Agenda, the educational institutions must undergo major changes, in particular in training, teaching and research activities. The unique functions and expertise of universities are critical for overcoming the wide range of interconnected social, economic, and environmental issues and they can provide the knowledge, innovations and policy options to underpin the implementation of these goals.

Political commitments by governments alone, however, will not suffice without mechanisms to steer their implementation. Policy decisions to meet the SDGs will need to be informed by policy-relevant evidence, co-designed and co-produced with pertinent stakeholders including the institutions of higher learning, the public and other sectors.

Support of universities to achieve SDGs 

　　ULB/ICCCAD, Feb 2018 (Policy Brief)

Along these lines, the universities should incorporate the vision of the SDGs and the development of appropriate competencies in their various professional disciplines. Through teaching and searching for information aimed at social improvement, academia can address and respond to the problems outlined in the 2030 Agenda. Using these objectives as benchmarks for educational administration not only makes timely implementation possible but also gives an advantage to those universities that want to build alliances with other involved stakeholders.

In addition, to shift in focus, a number of other immediate challenges are impacting proactive roles of universities in the implementations of SDGs. Chief among them are the affects of COVID 19 and its ensuing economic recessions.

The COVID pandemic is considered as the biggest crisis the world has confronted since the Second World War. The global disruption caused by COVID-19 is unprecedented in our lifetime and is a serious global setback for sustainable development. It has put our lives in reverse gear and erased what was achieved in the past four decades: be it multilateralism, respect for cultural diversity, increasing world trade, fight against poverty or, all other geo-political orders. It changed overnight patterns of personal consumption; work habits, leisure, recreation, travel and increased use of technologies.

The ensuing lockdowns and counter measures have resulted in an unprecedented drop in GDP, stymied trade, increased public deficits and debt, lack of foreign investments, health emergency, biodiversity decline and employment - particularly impacting women and lower-income households - in many countries. 

According to a forecast by the World Bank (June 2020), economic activity among advanced economies is anticipated to shrink by 7% in 2020 as domestic demand and supply, trade, and finance are being severely disrupted. Emerging markets and developing economies are expected to shrink by 2.5% this year, leading to a GDP decline of 3.6%, and accelerating extreme poverty, interruptions in schooling and primary healthcare access.

While the magnitude of disruption will vary from region to region, it is expected that ninety per cent of all countries will experience negative growth in real GDP this year.

It will be a daunting task for any institution of higher learning to provide a direction for containing the fallout. We need an effective coordination of efforts to restore growth, protect jobs and reinforce the global financial, economic and social systems. 

The pandemic may not itself transform the world, but it can well accelerate changes already under way.

In his message to the opening of the 75th anniversary session of the UN, the Secretary-General warned that while “The world has a surplus of multilateral challenges,  {it suffers} from a deficit of multilateral solutions - while no one wants a world government, we must work together to improve global governance.”

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown argued: “Out of this crisis must come reforms to the international architecture and a whole new level of global co-operation. If this is to happen, some states must lead. Any global order rests on co-operation among powerful states.”

The good news is that necessity breed’s innovation. New technologies are rapidly transforming all aspects of our society, sectors and markets. An estimated 70% of new value created in the economy over the next decade will be based on digitally enabled platforms – and leading innovators are re-imagining how we innovate, create, distribute and capture value in the new systems that are emerging.

Rapid technological advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) – as well as other evolving technologies such as robotics, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things – are changing the way we learn, work and live together. This transformation affects all aspects of our lives and sustainable development.

We may be in the early days of the digital age, but we stand at a critical juncture to make decisions and put in place a policy and governance architecture with profound and lasting impacts on our educational systems. Collaboration and coordination internationally and across multi-stakeholder groups will be critical.

The positive scenario of a technology-enabled sustainable future for all won’t emerge unguided. There will be trade-offs and challenges, including the importance of education and training for new skill, and labor market reform.

Conclusion

Society in the 21st century is facing various environmental, social and economic issues that have become collective problems. The concept of ‘sustainable development’ has become a central issue and has led to a global concern. The seventeen SDGs, as a part of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, are a plan of action that involve all societal actors and specify goals and targets, with the aim to stimulate action for achieving these objectives by 2030. Universities play an important role in the implementation of sustainable development (SD). As a result, an increasing number of higher learning institutions have recognized their responsibility and are incorporating sustainability into their structures, operations, and practices. Some studies have highlighted the lack of progress of these institutions toward implementing sustainability practices. Obstacles, such as the lack of support and awareness and insufficient financial resources, among others, have been identified and debated in the literature.

It goes without saying that changes require dramatic shifts in aspirations, behavioral patterns, prosperities, cultural affinity, harmonious dialogues and require a call for a new world order and diplomacy. The strategists for a better world at universities must engage in dreaming or imagining “what could be”, proceed to design of “what should be”, create “what will be” and appreciate the best of “what is”.

Strategies for a better world at universities

Future education must promote a Green COVID Recovery Plan – and we must deliver new jobs and businesses through a clean, green and non-carbon transition. Such a path exists. Faith is key for education in ensuring that sustainable development are instilled in our life and aspirations.

In the face of the multiple existential threats we have brought upon ourselves, business as usual is no longer an option. It is time to step up to the challenge and fundamentally reconfigure the role of education and schooling in order to radically reimagine and relearn our place and agency in the world

We require a complete paradigm shift, from learning about the world in order to act upon it, to learning to become part of the world around us. Our future survival depends on our capacity to make this shift.

We must live with technologies and adopt them as partners to guide us through a maze of difficulties. We have to create more modern, practical and smaller campuses, which are environmental friendly. We must prepare our generation and those of the future to be better prepared to deal with upcoming pandemics and conflicts and economic crashes. Covid has destroyed what we built for centuries but has also given us a blank page to restart again. 

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Special announcement: This article only represents the views of expert, not the views or positions of ICCSD.