Abstract
The concept of sustainability emerged globally in the 1987 Brundtland Report. Initially, it comprised three dimensions: environmental, social, and economic. Over time, sustainability became a global necessity that led to the establishment in 2015 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), so that sustainability became a public policy of extreme urgency. Thirty-four years later, there is an imperative need to expand the original concept not in a public policy but in a competence that graduates of higher education develop, regardless of their studied academic program. We propose sustainability as a transversal competence. Our work describes the path that a higher education institution in Mexico, Tecnologico de Monterrey, has followed to accomplish this task. The new educational model Tec21 based on challenge-based learning experiences has a focus on the development of sustainability competences and actions ownership towards solving the problems described in the 17 SDGs. Our proposed definition for the sustainability transversal competence is: “The student possesses the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for the successful performance of the task and the resolution of problems related to the challenges and opportunities for sustainability in today’s world”. Thus, education is both an objective and a means to achieve all the other SDGs.
Highlights
Sustainability would seem like a modern concept that encompasses many ideas; its meaning has evolved over time, the most common is to associate it with something that lasts, is perennial, or that by its nature remains present, without consumption of something that would be harmful externally, applying this in many areas of knowledge or society
education for sustainable development (ESD) empowers students of all ages with knowledge, but it can become a skill that may be part of all the undergraduate programs offered by higher education institutions
Undergraduate students can acquire the skills, values, and attitudes to address the interconnected global challenges that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to solve, including climate change, environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, poverty, and inequity. Institutions such as the Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico have developed a framework for the implementation of sustainability as a transversal axis and have walked towards the implementation of it as a graduation competence that prepares students to find solutions to the challenges of today and the future, regardless of the studied discipline
Summary
Sustainability would seem like a modern concept that encompasses many ideas; its meaning has evolved over time, the most common is to associate it with something that lasts, is perennial, or that by its nature remains present, without consumption of something that would be harmful externally, applying this in many areas of knowledge or society. The modern sciences of the 21st century have taken the concept of sustainability as a necessity, something that is required for the coexistence of the Earth’s biosphere and human civilization [2]. It was in 1987 when the comprehensive description of sustainability was established in the document “Our Common Future” ( known as “the Brundtland report”) and defined as “meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their needs” [3]. Scholars established three interconnected domains that would be the dimensions of sustainability: the environment, the economy, and the society [2]. Today in 2021, some experts have included other domains that participate in sustainable development (SD): culture, the economics of technology, and politics [3,4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
