Higher Education
and Research
for Sustainable
Development
On September 25th 2015, countries adopted 17 goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda.
The content listed in this category deals with several SDGs at the same time.
Under the theme "Higher Education and the Global Agenda”, the 2012 IAU GC devoted sessions to the promotion of SD by higher education
To mark the end of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and the beginning of the Post 2015 agenda activities, UNESCO and the Government of Japan held the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development - Learning Today for a Sustainable Future. The World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, closed on November 12, 2014 with a declaration calling for urgent action to mainstream ESD and include ESD in the post-2015 development agenda. The Aichi-Nagoya Declaration calls on all nations to implement the Global Action Programme on ESD (GAP) to move the ESD agenda forward.
The UNESCO World Conference on Educations for Sustainable Development (WC-ESD) 2014 adopts The Aichi-Nagoya Declaration and the launches the Global Action Programme.
The collective voice of the world’s universities and colleges was heard at COP21 when a global alliance of tertiary and higher education sustainability networks, including the IAU, representing more than 3000 universities and colleges worldwide, jointly issued an Open Letter urging Ministers and Governments to acknowledge and strengthen the research and education role that universities and colleges play in addressing climate change. IAU also represented its members by taking part in a COP21 panel debate on “Climate change as part of the curriculum from kindergarten to university”.
Launched at the UNESCO World Conference on ESD in Nagoya the Vol.20, No.3 issue offers a series of 18 papers on why higher education plays a crucial role in addressing the challenges of today and tomorrow. Focusing on the theme of the IAU Global Meeting of Associations 6, the Vol.21, No.1 issue offers a variety of papers on why and how higher education fosters social innovation.
IAU is pleased to draw your attention to this Conference organised by HESI and supported by the IAU, which took place at UNESCO Headquarters.
The Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) seeks to generate and scale-up ESD action. It is intended to make a substantial contribution to the post-2015 agenda. The overall goal of the GAP is to generate and scale up action in all levels and areas of education and learning to accelerate progress towards sustainable development.
IAU and COPERNICUS Alliance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD).
The IAU launched the report of its 2016 global survey on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD).
On September 18-19, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia hosted the International Conference on SDGs organized by the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi). IAU Secretary General, Dr. Hilligje van't Land, was one of the speaker.
During the UN High-level Political Forum (HLPF) 2020, the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), and the International Association of Universities (IAU) have formalised their collaboration through a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Together, the three associations represent more than 2,000 higher education institutions across more than 140 countries – providing a strong base to advocate for higher education on a wide international scale.
IAU HESD Cluster leads Siam University, Thailand, and Beirut Arab University, Lebanon, recently presented their work with the SDGs and social impact during an online event.
On the 8th of March, 2021, the IAU launched a free online publication prepared with the University of Bologna on University actions towards SDG 5: Gender Equality.
IAU applauds to the adoption and the strong call for engagement for ESD at all education levels, including Higher Education
Read the article on "A whole-institution approach towards sustainability: a crucial aspect of higher education’s individual and collective engagement with the SDGs and beyond" with contributions from the IAU HESD Cluster (2021)
Discover the publication launched during the webinar on 23 November!
Discover the magazine with 34 diverse and innovative contributions in the 'In Focus' section on sustainability from IAU Members and Partners!
The newly launched network will foster sustainability learning with teacher education and capacity building
Discover the publication with papers on SDG14 collected by the University of Bergen and IAU!
Recording available! Sign up for follow up activities
A report from a study to compare over 10.000 students’ consumer behaviour, travel behaviour, and daily life habits while at home and during their mobility was just published
The workshop is part of the Youth and Education project, a collaboration of UNESCO, UNEP, Students Organizing for Sustainability (SOS) International, and USPESD.
[survey closed - report available]
UNU-IAS and the RCE Network have launched a new publication on Engaging Communities for Biodiversity Conservation
Meet the 2022 finalists !
Outputs of the 2022 Meeting: The IAU HESD statement and the Strategy and Working Plan 2022-2024
Solutions Summit for HigherEd, Employers, Students
Activity of 2021-2022
From 27th of June 27 to 1st of July, governments, academia and other stakeholders will get together for the UN Ocean Conference. IAU and UiB will advocate for Higher Education and SDG 14
Contribute to the discussion and make your voice heard for transforming education for a sustainable future! Share and support students if you are a teacher.
Find out how Higher Education is represented at MONDIACULT, UNESCO 2022 - Mexico City on September 26-27, 2022, and get involved
Role of higher education in building back better from COVID-19 and advancing the 2030 Agenda
Find out about the winning institutions and projects that made an impact for Sustainability in higher education!
Register now and join the discussion on Relevance and Value of Universities to Future Society
Read the Youth Declaration launched on 19 September for the UN Transforming Education Summit in NYC and explore the Transforming Education Hub
On 21st of October the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) will host the in-person conference presenting the outcomes of the Erasmus Goes Green project
An in-depth consultation with more than 100 young people from 43 countries defined the challenges, improvements, and opportunities for higher education in 2050 in a new report by UNESCO (2022)
IAU was invited to speak at a webinar on how innovation can foster practices for the SDGs - article and recording available now
Education will play an important role at the 2022 COP in Egypt
Just on time for COP27, the MECCE project launched a data platform to explore climate communication and education (CCE) and ACE actions from different countries
HER2023 invites the research and teaching community to answer this question in analysing the place and work of Higher Education in and beyond the SDGs period to 2030
IAU joins World Climate Day on 8th December at 14h CET, organised by the Green office at the University of Liège (Belgium), in partnership with AUF
IAU and partners launched the Report with data from 464 HEIs in a webinar on 31 January
A day before International Women's day 2023, IAU and EWORA have partnered for a discussion on higher education's role for SDG 5 and equity
Do you know of an innovative and established project for ESD? Consider suggesting it for nomination for the UNESCO-Japan ESD Prize!
Could your university or project be a case study of a climate change communication and education initiative? Learn more and apply- deadline extended to 26 February
Higher Education and Research are crucial for SDG 6 and all SDGs
Sulitest launches TASK™️ - The Assessment of Sustainability Knowledge - with the ambition to transform education by making sustainability the universal language.
Students can apply until 30 March 2023 to be part of this year's Global University Climate Forum and actively learn and contribute to the discourse around COP28
Two years of collaborative work in favor of Gender Equality at the University: experience the workshop of the International Consortium initiated by the AUF
The 9th edition of ARC (ARC9) explores and maps both higher education policies and higher education institution practices across Asia and Europe that contribute to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To promote knowledge sharing, collaboration, and mutual learning ESD-Net 2030 is organizing a series of learning webinars in March, May and September 2023 on ESD pedagogy to highlight and promote innovative practices in ESD. This interactive learning series will focus on sharing and strengthening pedagogical approaches and key competencies in ESD through a broad range of topics and issues.
Get to know the winners of the award ceremony on 17 July at the UN HLPF!
Okayama City and the ESD Okayama Award Steering Board are calling for initiatives that contribute to the spread of ESD in local communities in Japan and abroad and serve as models for the world. The award is looking for projects that educate and develop people to learn from each other and take action toward the creation of a sustainable society from various perspectives, such as environmental conservation, community development, inheritance of traditional culture, and diversity and inclusion, and more. Be sure to send your applications!
"The SDG Summit in September must be a moment of unity to provide a renewed impetus and accelerated actions for reaching the SGDs": António Guterres, UN Secretary General
The new Cost of Net Zero Calculator tool, together with the report ‘The Cost of Net Zero’ have been launched.
Discover the recent actions from the network in the annual Cluster activity report!
The IAU and University World News have partnered to support the work of universities by providing them with adequate and constructive visibility though the UWN’s SDGs Hub.
The IAU is pleased to announce its partnership with Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK), for the international adaptation of the Responsible Futures programme, that SOS-UK already has been conducting with further and higher education institutions for almost 10 years in the UK.
After the success of the past edition, C40 has launched a new round of Students Reinventing Cities in 12 cities globally. Students Reinventing Cities provides a unique opportunity for academics and students to collaborate with global cities to imagine a more sustainable and inclusive urban future, by rethinking how neighborhoods identified by cities are planned and designed and developing transformative solutions aligned with the 15-minute city concept.
Led by the High-Level Climate Champions for Climate Action, the Race To Zero mobilizes actors outside of national governments to join the Climate Ambition Alliance, which was launched at the UNSG’s Climate Action Summit in 2019 by the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera...
//Watch the recording & read the event summary// Addressing Mental Health issues of students and staff at universities and taking preventive measures through information and e-health tools were some of the examples described by experts during this webinar.
Under the general theme of the conference, New Challenges for Higher Education, Cities and Regions: Addressing SDGs in Changing Contexts, key issues address both the larger international dimension of the mission of universities and colleges with the aim of contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and their role for the development and well-being of cities and local communities.
The ESD-NET Global Meeting in Tokyo, which commenced on December 18, 2023, marked a successful gathering at the United Nations University with the presence of representatives from more than 80 countries. This year’s meeting focused on sharing the implementation and progress of the ESD-2030 national initiatives, trends, challenges and innovations within the framework of Agenda 2030 and discussing the action points for the next two years 2024-2025.
The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP) is now accepting Project Requests from African host universities and Scholar Applications from qualified African academics in the diaspora in the United States and Canada.
Would you like to learn how to find actions from universities on sustainable development and SDGs? Interested in resources for teaching SDGs? Join the free 30 min interactive online session to learn more about the IAU HESD Portal and the IAU HESD work.
Learn about the participants in this international pilot and their achievements so far in the journey of integrating ESD at the whole institution. This second spotlight looks at Queen's University, Canada
Find out how your institution can join the next cohort 2024-25 of the Responsible Futures International Programme !
We are thrilled to announce that the International Green Gown Awards 2024 Awards are open. Join us in celebrating sustainability for the 10th anniversary of the IGGAs. With 8 categories to choose from, reward your sustainability journey and apply today! Don't miss the deadline on April 29, 2024.
UArctic and the Arctic Circle welcome nominations for the 2024 Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award until April 30, 2024.
Learn about the participants in this international pilot and their achievements so far in the journey of integrating ESD at the whole institution. Murdoch University and their "Murdoch Mettle" initiative engaging students is up next!
On World Environment Day, UNESCO unveils two new concrete tools for greening schools and curricula, highlighting the need to empower young people to play a concrete role in tackling the climate crisis.
Okayama City (Japan) and the ESD Okayama Award Steering Board are calling for initiatives that contribute to the spread of ESD in local communities anywhere in the world and serve as models of good practice. Apply now!
In the 10th year of the IGGAs, an incredible number of 95 finalists from 28 countries across eight categories applied! Discover the shortlisted finalists for 2024 now
Learn about the participants in this international pilot and their achievements so far in the journey of integrating ESD at the whole institution. We're pleased this month to highlight Responsible Futures International pilot institution Mykolas Romeris University (MRU, Lithuania).
The report presenting results of the global survey on Exploring Perception of Faculty Engagement in Sustainability: An International Survey Identifying Levers of Action and Best Practices is available!
Participating institutions in this international pilot are advancing the work for sustainability! This month, discover the example of Women's University in Africa (WUA) in Zimbabwe!
Read the latest report on SDGs activities carried out by the IAU HESD Cluster members
For this year's Green Gown Awards, several IAU members were amongst the finalists and congrats to those awarded!
We live in times when urgency demands agency in HE towards sustainability. This session approaches this conundrum and asks how higher education stakeholders can cut through the noise and shape policy and practice to repurpose education towards the common good and well-being of people and planet.
At the recent IAU International Conference in Tokyo, Japan, a poster exhibition and panel session highlighted the achievements of the international pilot group so far and their actions for sustainable development.
