Sustainability in Higher Education - UNU-IAS presentation Presented by Dr. Philip Vaughter (Research Fellow, UNU-IAS) ProSPER.Net Webinar on Sustainability in Higher Education 16 October, 2020

1. Sustainabilityin higher
education – Accelerating
transitiontowardsachieving
theSDGsduringandafterthe
COVIDpandemic
Dr. PhilipVaughter
United Nations University – Institute for the Advanced
Study of Sustainability
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SUPPORTED BY
Ministry of the Environment
Government of Japan

2. Challenges
and
opportunities
universities are
facing during
COVID-19
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3. Challenges
and
opportunities
universities are
facing during
COVID-19
3

4. Challenges
and
opportunities
universities are
facing during
COVID-19
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5. Contributions
of HEIs and
academic
networks in
responding to
educational
inequalities
faced during
pandemic
Shared by ProSPER.Net member universities during
COVID-19 pandemic:
 Re-opening criteria that can be matched to other universities
– nationally and internationally
 Strategies to enhance international learning and cooperation
in absence of international travel
 Online forums for networking, catching up, and support
 Resources to support international students – both on
campus and off
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6. How can
universities
coordinate to
‘build back
better’ and
accelerate
sustainable
development?
Shared by ProSPER.Net member universities during
COVID-19 pandemic:
 Continue communication and exchange of knowledge despite
physical barriers
 Uniform capacity-building tools to help universities adapt to
online environments
 Need to address flexibility in funding cycles – current system not
tenable in current conditions
 Need to address mental well being in students, staff, and faculty
 Need uniform call for redesign and reorientation of higher
education – status quo of modern higher education helped enable
non-sustainable world – need return to investment and counter
anti-intellectualism
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