Sustainable Development Of Universities Research Articles

WORLD EXPERIENCE OF UNIVERSITY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Introduction. A typical practice of the world's leading countries is the transformation of higher education institutions into agents of change in society. In the XXI century, these changes are primarily focused on various aspects of sustainable development of the country and its regions. Currently, it is the universities, together with NGOs, that have the greatest impact on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals proclaimed by the UN for 2015. The purpose of the research is to analyse the global experience of sustainable development in higher education institutions (HEIs). Methodology. This study used the cognitive method of analysis. In order to obtain the most objective research results, the authors studied the universities included in the international Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. The study covered universities from all over the world that were included in the top 50 of the rating. The results of the analysis are systematised according to geography (the article includes several sections characterising the sustainable development of universities in Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia). Results. Higher education institutions are now expected to become leaders in sustainable change in the country, economy and society. The world's leading universities are demonstrating how to progressively transform their activities in line with sustainable principles. They are investing heavily in the implementation of the latest technologies for energy saving, water conservation, campus landscaping and waste recycling. Since they have access to areas where the natural complex is preserved, universities are trying to support these areas and create favourable conditions for using them as living laboratories in educational and research processes. Universities offer sustainable development and lifestyles as part of their educational activities (public lectures, expert workshops, specialised short-term online training, etc.). Universities influence the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through their educational and research (inventive) activities. The world's leading universities are keen to promote the concept of sustainable development: they share events held, projects and initiatives undertaken and goals achieved widely on their official websites and social networks. Conclusion. The main directions of sustainable development in higher education institutions are 1) sustainable development of the campus (carbon neutrality, rational consumption, energy efficiency, waste recycling, optimisation of drinking water consumption, green transport, food safety for students); 2) sustainable educational programmes and courses (a sustainable component in students' bachelor and master theses); 3) sustainable research (innovative technologies against climate change, water conservation, energy saving, etc.); 4) management (internal regulatory documents on sustainable development, specialised sustainability centres to promote and support sustainable initiatives). Long-term partnership with stakeholders (entrepreneurs, local authorities and students as agents of future sustainable change) plays an important role in ensuring sustainability. The sustainable development strategy of a modern higher education institution should be based on the principles of complexity and coherence, which will not allow sustainability measures and initiatives to be fragmented and asynchronous. Areas for further research include building a theoretical and methodological framework for the development of an integrated ecosystem of sustainable development of universities.

Clustering Analysis of Classified Performance Evaluation of Higher Education in Shanghai Based on Topsis Model

Diversification is a fundamental attribute of higher education. With the continuous expansion of the scale, universities and colleges have paid more attention to developing in diversified ways. Diversification is an important way to promote sustainable development of universities and colleges. Sustainable development is the endogenous impetus for the long-term development of higher education. The implementation of classified performance evaluation on higher education is beneficial to optimize fund and resource allocation for different types of universities and colleges, to effectively promote the diversified construction and sustainable development of higher education. Therefore, it becomes extremely important in the reform of higher education in China. It classifies universities and colleges into different types and then implements performance evaluation on the objects of the same type. In this paper, a classified performance evaluation indicator system is established for different types of universities and colleges. Topsis model is used to calculate the relative adjacency between the evaluated objects and the optimal and inferior solutions of all objects. A systematic clustering algorithm is made to analyze and evaluate the performance of universities and colleges in the same type. An automatic system is developed to analyze data from 62 universities and colleges in Shanghai. It provides advice and guidance for the development strategy of higher education.

Using a Multi-Criteria Ranking Method to Assess Factors Influencing the Implementation of Sustainable Development at Higher Educational Institutions

Over the last years, there has been a significant increase in interest in sustainable development in higher education institutions, and many have begun to implement sustainable development into their system. Several sustainable development assessment tools have also been developed to help universities systematically measure, monitor, benchmark, communicate, and manage their sustainable development efforts. These efforts have led to mixed results. It seems that one of the main reasons for this situation is the non-systematic and non-holistic approach to implementing sustainable development in universities. Thus, it can be assumed that the implementation of sustainable development in a university should cover all dimensions of its functioning and involve actors within it. Therefore, the aim of this article is to present a tool (inspired by the concept of university sustainability), based on the method of multicriteria rankings, for assessing the factors influencing the implementation of sustainable development in higher education institutions at the level of departments, as relatively autonomous wholes, based on the analysis of departments at one of the leading technical universities in Poland. The proposed tool provides an opportunity for a more holistic view of sustainable development implementation, both by prioritizing factors and by considering that higher education institutions are systems that are, in fact, composed of two distinct but necessarily cooperating subsystems: the academic subsystem and the administrative subsystem. The proposal is preliminary, but it seems that given the relevance and urgency of the sustainable development issue, this is the direction to take in research on sustainable development management in higher education institutions.

An FMEA model for risk assessment of university sustainability: using a combined ITARA with TOPSIS-AL approach based neutrosophic sets.

It is necessary to emphasize both the process and results of performance management to find the balance between quality and quantity needed to ensure the sustainable development of universities to make the best use of limited educational resources and meet the diverse needs of students. This study applies failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to analyze obstacles to university sustainability by constructing complete risk assessment modes and reference indicators. The neutrosophic set theory was incorporated into the FMEA to account for information uncertainty and asymmetry. A specialist team then evaluated the importance of the risk factors using neutrosophic indifference threshold-based attribute ratio analysis to determine objective weights for the risk factors. Furthermore, the neutrosophic technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution based on aspiration level (N-TOPSIS-AL) is employed to aggregate the total risk scores of the failure modes. Using neutrosophic sets to measure truth, falsity, and indeterminacy in the assessment significantly improve the adaptability of the fuzzy theory to real-world problems. The study results indicate that when assessing university affairs management and analyzing possible risks, priority must be given to the occurrence of risks and that the lack of educational facilities is the riskiest item in the specialist assessment. The proposed assessment model can be applied as a basis for university sustainability assessments to accelerate the development of other forward-looking approaches.

Research on University Network Public Opinion Monitoring and Early Warning System Based on Big Data

Undergraduate self-consciousness is still in the formative stage and is highly susceptible to external environment. Schools must adapt to the new forms and requirements, improve their ability to search, analyze, and prevent online public opinion through big data technologies; we should make early discovery, early action, and early resolution, so as not to give time and space for public opinion crisis fermentation and consolidate the dominant position of the mainstream ideology. This paper focuses on the university network public opinion monitoring and early warning system based on big data and analyzes the university public opinion from the perspective of the specificity, sensitivity, identification, early warning and prevention ability of the system to deal with public opinion, and effectively solves the network public opinion crisis. Combined with the current actual situation and specific needs, this paper explores the intervention measures and guidance strategies for the network public opinion of college emergencies, so as to lay a solid foundation for the healthy, stable, and sustainable development of colleges and universities.

A Comprehensive Evaluation Framework to Assess the Sustainable Development of Schools within a University: Application to a Chinese University

Higher education institutions have long played a critical role in society. The sustainable development of universities—wherein they consistently maintain a high level of performance in teaching, research, innovation, and stewardship of talent—is increasingly viewed as critical to driving social change and building a sustainable future. Every year, many organizations publish rankings to assess and compare the performance of universities across a nation or the world. However, few of these rankings focus on the differences in performance between individual schools within a particular university, which is crucial to improving the quality of the institution as a whole. This study attempts to fill this knowledge gap by proposing a comprehensive evaluation framework to allow for systematic and standardized analysis of performance at the school/college level according to any combination of relevant indicators. The framework builds upon existing work related to the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) methods and proposes an improved model that mitigates defects in previous models while enhancing interpretability and stability. An applied example in which this framework is used to evaluate schools of humanities and social sciences disciplines at Wuhan University in China is provided. The results of the applied example show that the framework enables an in-depth analysis of performance levels through multiple perspectives, thereby providing valuable insights for formulating targeted strategies to improve school performance and enhance the sustainable development of higher education institutions.

Green economy metrics as a promoter of sustainable development in universities. Case study: El Bosque University

The exchange that occurs in universities when they participate in international rankings is an important space to share and grow in the academic production of teachers and in the training of students. At the beginning, the sustainable social responsibility system was adhered only to the industry due to the increase in large-scale production; however, the academy has taken a voice and vote on this climate phenomenon. This is why projects aimed at sustainability have been proposed in universities that aim at a green economy. Likewise, the UI Green Metric Rankings allows higher education institutions worldwide to measure their sustainable actions in different categories on a voluntary basis.For this reason, this article presents the best practices of the University El Bosque against the different indicators that the UI Green Metric measures, such as infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste, water, transport and education. Consequently, the concept of sustainability has become a vital element for the development of programs that involve the institution in internationalization through the global recognition generated by being participants and being able to be in the range of green universities.As a conclusion of this exchange, Based on responsible production methods with the natural and social environment or Clean Modalities, a production cycle is proposed that opens the possibility of integrating with other related production systems that receive their waste as raw materials in a network, this is Symbiotic Cycle. To arrive at the approach of a symbiotic disposal of waste as inputs with other production systems in such a way as to consolidate a set of sustainable organizations that collaborate with each other and that continuously recover the value to increase efficiency.Keyword: sustainability, green economy, sustainable development

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF UNIVERSITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The study is devoted to the impact of the crisis on changing the priorities of sustainable development. To neutralize the effects of the crisis, an approach to the formation of the structure of sustainable development of universities in crisis conditions is proposed and the procedure for coordinating tactics and development strategies during the crisis is established. The difference in the formation of sustainable development priorities in the face of threats is established. It is proved that sustainability is achieved through the introduction of flexible approaches, stabilization of the level of danger, re-profiling of all resources and ensuring a stable level of funding. Stratification of threat mitigation methods and tools is proposed. It is established that adaptive coordination of urgent tactical tasks and only secondarily of the strategic goal is required. The change in the significance of influencing factors in ensuring the appropriate level of training during the pandemic in universities in developed and developing countries has been studied. A systematic approach to the formation of the structure of the implementation of sustainable development of universities in a crisis has been proposed. The peculiarities of the formation of factors influencing the effectiveness of training and the importance of the qualities of leaders in crisis conditions in Ukraine have been pointed out.

Research on innovation of university leadership network management based on the concept of knowledge management

In the era of knowledge economy and network, colleges and universities are increasingly becoming a collection of real world and virtual time and space. More and more college students obtain information, learning, and educational resources through the Internet. Under the influence of the Internet world, colleges and universities are using the current situation of network management. The traditional management concept is difficult to play a management role, and management is becoming more and more difficult. It is urgent to establish a new management model that adapts to the requirements of the times, to utilize the value of human resources by expanding personnel allocation, to support the high-quality development of teaching work, and to help colleges and universities. achieve sustainable development. Starting from this demand, innovating the existing management model based on the knowledge management concept has become an effective strategy for integrating human resources and knowledge resources in colleges and universities in the new era and improving the level of comprehensive management. The core of knowledge management is the innovation of network management, which aims to provide certain scientific thinking for university management and promote the sustainable development of universities.

General education in Taiwan’s universities: Development, challenges, and role

General education is closely tied to universities because the holistic and liberal elements of modern general education are key ideals of both traditional Chinese and Western universities. General education plays a key role in the sustainable development of universities and the realization of their educational ideals. This study discusses the development and challenges of general education in Taiwan’s universities, and the role of general education in the sustainable development of universities. According to a literature review, this study explores the following roles: (1) general education as the foundation of university professional education; (2) general education reform as the foundation of university education reform; (3) general education as the educational ideal of universities; (4) general education as a solution for the “knowledge-only” and “dehumanization” problems of universities; (5) general education as a buffer between technology and humanities in universities; (6) general education as a tool for the enrichment of university culture; and (7) general education as a means to achieve the goals of universities and promote their sustainable development.

Impact of psychological empowerment on job performance of Chinese university faculty members: A cross-sectional study

As knowledge workers, faculty members are pivotal for the sustainable development of universities. We explored the psychological empowerment–job performance relationship with 216 faculty members of a Chinese university. Participants completed two self-report scales that have been shown to have adequate reliability and validity, which were used to assess psychological empowerment and job performance. The results show there was a significant positive correlation between psychological empowerment and job performance, such that each psychological empowerment dimension was positively correlated with each job performance dimension. Our findings highlight the importance of the psychological empowerment of university faculty members, because it is necessary for their professional development, and as the driving force for sustainable development of universities, they can contribute toward promoting academic productivity.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SOCIAL COHESION AS DRIVERS IN THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF UNIVERSITIES

The purpose of this article is to theoretically, methodologically and practically explore social responsibility and social cohesion and justify their role as driving forces in the sustainable development of universities. This paper focuses on the rationale for various aspects of the development of social responsibility and social cohesion, and specifically in higher education. The article defines the importance of the values of social cohesion and social development and their implementation in the education of socially responsible youth. Listed the main categories in which the social responsibility of the higher education can be determined and applied for the educational management effectiveness. This article aims to show the role of social cohesion and social responsibility in the implementation of the principles of sustainable development, and to reveal the relations between the values of social cohesion and social responsibility and the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Methodology. Scientific analysis is carried out with the help of an interdisciplinary system of methods, namely, system analysis, interviewing, statistical data analysis, comparison, etc. Social synergetics and system approach are applied to the issues of education management.Results. The methodological approaches to the formation of modern educational and management models for universities are considered. The model of the social cohesion of the university community is analyzed. The university management strategy based on the values and principles of social responsibility and social cohesion is described. Ways to improve the economic and managerial efficiency of universities and society, respectively, are considered. The process of self-organization in education management and parameters of its ordering are defined.The most significant scientific results: the attitude and development of such values as social responsibility and social cohesion in the Ukrainian educational community were investigated; the sustainable development of universities as the best practice and factor of influence on socio-economic development was determined; the role of social responsibility and social cohesion as parameters of order in enhancing the sustainable development of universities and society respectively was substantiated.The practical significance of the study lies in the actualization of the need to develop social responsibility and social cohesion in the Ukrainian educational community, which is confirmed by statistical data, as well as the possibility of their application in the educational process and value-based management of education. The use of these results in the practice of education management allows us to create a model of social responsibility of universities and outline the directions of its implementation, to develop and implement a mechanism for monitoring the implementation of social responsibility, to study the actual level of social cohesion of the university community, to suggest ways for its further development, aimed at improving the competitiveness of universities in a globalized environment.Value/originality. The originality of the study lies in the combination of the two key values of the EU and their correspondence to the SDGs and the sustainable development of universities on the basis of value-based education management. A social synergetic approach is applied to issues of educational governance.

Sustainability and creativity through mail art: A case study with young artists in universities

Universities around the world are making considerable efforts to contribute to sustainable development through their institutional frameworks, education, research or community awareness. This article discusses how young artists connect with sustainability problems through an analysis of individual artistic creativity (visions, sources of inspiration, messages and communicative strategies) by means of a novel interpretive arts-based research methodology: mail art. A collection of mail art individually created by 29 young artists who also provide self-reports on the meaning of their work, the creation process and its intent are analyzed using a qualitative content analysis methodology complemented by an aesthetic inquiry into the artistic qualities and creative techniques of the collection. The research concludes that the collection reproduces but also produces messages promoting a sustainability culture. It promotes individual actions for sustainability with everyday creativity using expert knowledge and describes visions and attitudes expressed by young people to detect gaps and to develop a more informed education for sustainable development in universities. Although there are individual differences, the participants generally show appropriate values -such as universalism-, and a desire for ethical action within an ecocentric worldview, displaying constructive hope. However, the collection stands out for a collective, global and future-oriented, versus individual, local and present-oriented framing, running the risk of becoming visions that can delay transformative actions. Some of the most conclusive recommendations of the study are the need to work on the issues of equity and equality in universities today, to enhance the critical perspective of students and to change their current role from that of merely observers to agents for change.

Investigating The Sustainable Development of Tabriz University Based on Green Management Parameters and Preferences of University Managers

In recent years, the destruction of the environment on the one hand and the increase in awareness of the consequences of this great danger on the other hand, has led to global actions and consequently, local actions to protect the environment and sustainable development. One of these actions is the sustainable development of universities. The reason for the importance of this case is, firstly, the goal of the universities themselves, which as the center of knowledge and training of the country's elites, is also at the top of environmental affairs, and secondly, as a center with a large number of students and staff which can have a great impact with action for environment. In this research, by using library studies, field observations and interviews, we try to identify sustainability measures of Iranian universities in order to achieve sustainable development and finally present the results of these measures to improve the methods of establishing sustainable development in universities and provide a comprehensive and complete model taking into account all aspects of sustainable development in universities with special emphasis on the campus and its green management. A questionnaire-based on international and domestic standards on the effectiveness of green management parameters in the sustainable development of Tabriz University was prepared and sent to university administrators and faculty members, and then the top ten rankings of this questionnaire were used using interviews with Tabriz university administrators to be determined their preferences in this regard.

Energy Consumption Analysis and Comprehensive Energy Efficiency Evaluation of Campus Central Heating System Based on Heat Supply Monitoring Platform

The energy conservation of campus buildings is the most direct and effective means to promote the sustainable development of colleges and universities. Using the heat data collected by heat supply monitoring platform to perform real-time energy consumption analysis and heating energy efficiency evaluation is a prerequisite for realizing automatic heat supply control based on energy conservation and heating demand. This paper studied the energy conservation analysis and comprehensive energy efficiency evaluation of campus central heating system based on the heat supply monitoring platform. At first, the paper elaborated on the energy consumption analysis method of the campus central heating system based on the heat supply monitoring platform; then, it gave the energy balance equation and the exergy balance equation; after that, based on a few parameters such as the EHR (electricity to heat ratio), heating index, and water makeup rate, this paper evaluated the energy efficiency of the campus central heating system, and experimental results verified the effectiveness of the analysis and evaluation methods.

The Model of Responsible Managerial Education in Conditions of Economy Transformation

Today’s universities’ need to adapt to transformation processes is formed by such phenomena as digitalization and globalization of economy, fast growth in competition in the field of education services, the development of innovation technologies and communication means. Being the foundation of human capital development for all industries of economy the education environment today should meet the acute requirements of labour market in highly qualified workers, foster establishment of strong links with national and international academic communities and successful positioning in global education and professional business-space. Taking into account the UN initiative ‘Principles of Responsible Managerial Education’ (2007), which is considered as an approach to promotion of principles of sustainable development in universities implementing education programs of managerial profile, the university becomes a key element in shaping a new education eco-system. It defined the aim of the present research, which includes analysis of the key trends in the development of today’s system of managerial personnel training and factors that stipulated them on global and national level. On the basis of 25-years’ experience of the chair ‘Management of Capital Group Projects and Programs’ of the Russian Plekhanov University of Economics the authors studied the key stages of transformation processes of developing the system of higher education in Russia in post-soviet period. In conclusion they formulated new characteristics of the model of responsible managerial education being shaped.

Holistic integration of sustainability at universities: Evidences from Colombia

Education for sustainable development in universities provides the university’s community (i.e. students, administrative and academic staff) with the skills and capabilities needed to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development. Education for sustainable development has been introduced into curricula, research, outreach activities and campus operations. Several tools exist nowadays to assess this incorporation. Most of them are focused on the environmental aspect of campus operations and within academic issues but do not consider the entire system. This research aimed to propose an integration of sustainability throughout the university as a system, considering existing tools and frameworks, and proving the theoretical proposal in an empirical context. Thus, this paper focuses on sustainability from a whole-institution perspective, analysing the university as a system conformed of two subsystems, the academic and the administrative. The research used a sequential, mixed-method. The quantitative phase undertook a literature review using bibliometric and content analysis, followed by a qualitative phase using the thematic analysis method to develop the University Sustainability concept. The University Sustainability analysis integrated education for sustainable development aspects for the academic subsystem and the corporate sustainability paradigm for the administrative subsystem. Consequently, a sustainability measurement scale for the University Sustainability concept was developed and proved using the exploratory factor analysis. The survey was applied to directors, academic and administrative staff, and under and post-graduate students of two private universities located in Medellin, Colombia. A total of 1799 useable responses were collected and analysed with SPSS software. The analysis’ outcome exposed all factors loaded above 0.40, and overall, the alpha coefficient was 0.930. Results revealed the reliability and validity of the instrument. Hence, the University Sustainability concept was validated, and its measurement scale is suitable to be used in assessing the sustainability of universities holistically. The evidence from the studied universities shows the relevance of corporate sustainability and social issues in the developed University Sustainability concept.

Towards a common future: revising the evolution of university-based sustainability research literature

ABSTRACT The field of sustainability has evolved considerably since the report “Our Common Future” was published in 1987. Whereas matters related to sustainable development used to be of marginal interest in the 1980s, it has substantially evolved since, and have become mainstream. As a result, there is a plethora of research on different aspects, whose focus has also been influenced by societal developments. This line of thinking also applies to sustainability research in higher education, a special and central field. Unfortunately, the variety of research on matters of sustainable development in universities makes it difficult to obtain an insight into its current status, and to ascertain how it has evolved since 1987. Based on the perceived need to fill this gap, a study focusing on the evolution of university-based sustainability research literature has been undertaken. The study entailed approximately 1700 papers published between 1987 and 2019, being one of the most comprehensive studies on this field ever undertaken. Apart from performing a bibliometric analysis using science mapping software tools, the research clustered the research into some key areas. The results suggest that, whereas impressive, the evolution of university-based sustainability research has been uneven, and calls for a more balanced emphasis to as to cover some research areas which have so far been neglected. The implications of this work are twofold: it will support the further development of the university-based sustainability research literature, and will help to address some thematic gaps, which are seen today, and to which greater attention is needed.

For the Sustainable Development of Universities: Exploring the External Factors Impacting Returned Early Career Academic’s Research Performance in China

Early career academics are the key agents for the sustainable development of higher education institutions. In China, those who were educated overseas and have returned to Chinese universities to seek academic positions are becoming a fast-growing group. Good research performance is critical to survive in the increasingly competitive environment in academia. Improving research performance requires an understanding of the factors that facilitate or inhibit research performance. In the light of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, this study, using a mixed-method design (20 interviewees and 136 respondents), elaborates on a number of external factors affecting returned early career academics’ research performance. Understanding these factors is helpful for the building of a favorable environment that can improve the research performance of the returned early career academics, and hence the sustainable development of universities.

Positive Psychological Intervention Mechanism of VR Technology in Public Health Emergencies in Universities

Public health emergencies in colleges and universities refer to public incidents that occur within or outside colleges and universities, but are quite related to people or events in colleges and universities, which are difficult to predict beforehand, and have a certain impact on the school’s teaching, work, and life order. It has the characteristics of suddenness, groupness, and unpredictability. This article aims to analyze the common problems in the management of public health in colleges and universities, propose specific measures to strengthen the management of public health emergencies in colleges and universities, and maintain the harmonious, stable, healthy and sustainable development of colleges and universities. This article uses VR technology to conduct psychological interventions on public health emergencies in colleges and universities, integrate more complete biological individuals into the virtual system, and let the individual's various perception activities such as sight, hearing and touch, as well as emotions such as joy, tension and fear. Reactions will be fully expressed, realistic effects, and immersive interactions. The experimental results of this paper show that after the application of VR technology in the positive psychological intervention mechanism, people's attention to public emergencies in colleges and universities has increased by 13%, and the frequency of public emergencies has also been reduced by 20%.