The crosscutting impact of higher education on the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include access to higher education as a valued outcome, but universities also have a crucial role in supporting societies in achieving the full set of 17 goals. This task can be achieved through universities’ diverse functions of education, research, innovation and public engagement, as well as through their own campuses and communities. Nevertheless, despite their huge potential in this regard, current configurations of political economy present significant constraints. Seven of these barriers are analysed here: resources, recognition, marketisation, status competition, labour market links, difficulties of measurement and lack of imagination. These barriers are not insurmountable, and reimagined forms of higher education can play a major role not only in achieving the SDGs, but also in reinventing them for the post-2030 era.