| Peer-Reviewed

The Challenges of Higher Education and its Contribution to Sustainable Development

Received: 8 October 2021    Accepted: 29 October 2021    Published: 24 January 2022
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

This research article deeps on higher education institution challenges in terms of governance, internationalization, research, student engagement and sustainability within an innovative and adaptative higher education academic framework necessary to achieve the challenges ahead in a highly competitive and technologically changing environment. With this purpose a series of university strategic challenges are reviewed and analyzed in order to tackle and establish the expected degree of quality and excellence that these higher education institutions must achieve and maintain over time. The main objective of this research article is to demonstrate from a deductive approach the hypothesis that a consistent and successful student professional development is based on the fulfillment of a demanding and stimulating academic experience through critical spirit awareness, research capacity empowerment and the acquisition of skills and knowledge delivered by an academic institution capable to ensure student engagement along with specific in-company training as fundamental components for achieving a graduate’s lasting professional competitiveness able to cope with the current environmental, economic and social challenges ahead.

Published in Higher Education Research (Volume 7, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.her.20220701.11
Page(s) 1-9
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Higher Education Governance, Research, Internationalization, Student Engagement, Sustainability

References
[1] Besgul, O. O. (2013), AB ve Egitim Politikasi, Istanbul Bilgi Universitesi. http://digitaleurope.bilgi.edu.tr/html/2-4/index.html (Accessed: 20.12.2013).
[2] Bond, M., Buntins, K., Bedenlier, S. et al. Mapping research in student engagement and educational technology in higher education: a systematic evidence map. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 17, 2 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0176-8.
[3] Boyra, J. (2012), El turisme i el seu valor estratègic i científic en segle XXI. El Pallars Sobirà com a destinació turística Vol. 1. Escola Universitària Formatic Barcelona. Editorial Astro Uno.
[4] Boyra, J. & Sorribes, J. (2020), Learning and teaching strategic challenges: the educational answers. Wales Journal of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Volume 2, 22-28 pp. ISSN 2396-7285. University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
[5] Buckley, R. C. (1996), Sustainable tourism, issues and management tools, Annals of Tourism Research, London.
[6] Burjalés, M. D., Ricomà, R., Maciá, L., Ballester, D. (2005), Marco europeo, una realidad inminente. Integración de los estudios de enfermería en el espacio europeo de educación superior. Presencia, Jul-Dec; Vol. 1, N° 2, pp. 1-6.
[7] Caballero, G., Vázquez, X. H., Quintás, M. A. (2015), Improving Employability Through Stakeholders in European Higher Education: The Case of Spain. Long Range Planning, Vol. 48, pp. 398–411.
[8] Ceulemans, K., Molderez, I., Van Liedekerke, L. (2015), Sustainability reporting in higher education: a comprehensive review of the recent literature and paths for further research. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 106, pp. 127-143.
[9] Commission of the European Communities (2001), The Concrete Future Objectives of Education Systems, Report from the Commission, 59 final, Brussels.
[10] COM (2019) 22, Reflection Paper Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030 https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/reflection-paper-towards-sustainable-europe-2030_en.
[11] Deloitte & The Manufacturing Institute (2015), The skills gap in U.S. manufacturing 2015 and beyond. Deloitte Development LLC.
[12] De Wit H., Deca L. (2020), Internationalization of Higher Education, Challenges and Opportunities for the Next Decade. In: Curaj A., Deca L., Pricopie R. (eds) European Higher Education Area: Challenges for a New Decade. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56316-5_1.
[13] Dodero, J. M., Artificial intelligence masters’ programs - An analysis of curricula building blocks, López Cobo, M. and De Prato, G. editors, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2021, ISBN 978-92-76-37417-6, doi: 10.2760/773615, JRC123713.
[14] European Commission (2017), Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture. Directorate C — Innovation, International Cooperation and Sport. Unit C2 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. Study of business participation and entrepreneurship in Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (FP7 and Horizon 2020). Final Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
[15] European Commission (2020), Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. Directorate G – Research & Innovation Outreach. Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services. Towards a 2030 Vision on the Future of Universities in Europe. Policy Report. Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union.
[16] EADTU (2020), Europe's leading institutional association for online, open & distance higher education - Message to the Ministerial European Higher Education Area and Bologna Process-EHEA Conference 2020, Rome, 19th November 2020.
[17] European Standards and Guidelines (2015), Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). (2015). Brussels, Belgium. https://www.eurashe.eu/library/quality-he/ESG_2015.pdf.
[18] Ferrer-Balas, D., Lozano, R., Huisingh, D., Buckland, H., Ysern, P., Zilahy, G. (2010), Going beyond the rhetoric: system-wide changes in universities for sustainable societies. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol 18, pp. 607–610.
[19] Fleaca, E., Fleaca, B., Maiduc, S. (2017), Modeling Stakeholders Relationships to Strengthen the Entrepreneurial Behavior of Higher Education Institutions. Procedia Engineering, Vol. 181, pp. 935–942.
[20] Fontaine P. (2007), What is the EU? Turkey: European Union Information and Communication Support Program.
[21] Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74, 59–109.
[22] Glantz, E., Gamrat, C., Lenze, L., Bardzell, J. (2021), Improved Student Engagement in Higher Education’s Next Normal. EDUCAUSE Review, March 16, 2021. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2021/3/improved-student-engagement-in-higher-educations-next-normal.
[23] Gomez, S. & Colella. Ch. (2020), The world of higher education after COVID-19. How COVID-19 has affected young universities. Young European Research Universities (YERUN). Brussels.
[24] Grand, J., Cummings, M. P., Rebelo, T. G., Ricketts, T. H., Neel, M. C. (2007), Biased data reduce efficiency and effectiveness of conservation reserve networks, Ecology Letters p. 364-374, accessed on the 15 September 2017 at http://www.worldwildlife.org.
[25] Hardin, G. (1968), The tragedy of the commons. Science. 162: 1243-1248. Washington.
[26] Heriard, P., Prutsch, M. J. & Thoenes, S., 2021, Research for CULT Committee – Making the European Education Area a reality: state of affairs, challenges and prospects, European Parliament, Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies, Brussels.
[27] Kleven, T. (1997), Environment, knowledge and planning - notes on some difficult links. In: Proceedings of the Athens International Conference on Urban Regional Environmental Planning and Informatics to Planning in an Era of Transition. 22-24th October, Athens pp. 429-438. Editors: Timos Sellis & Dimitri Georgoulis. Athens.
[28] Larrán, M., Herrera, J., Calzado, M. Y., Andrades, F. J. (2015), An approach to the implementation of sustainability practices in Spanish universities. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 106, pp. 34-44.
[29] López-Pastor, V. M., Castejón, J., Sicilia-Camacho, A., Navarro-Adelantado, V., Webb, G. (2011), The Process of Creating a Cross-university Network for Formative and Shared Assessment in Higher Education in Spain and its Potential Applications. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, Vol. 48, N° 1, pp. 79-90.
[30] Lozano, R., Ceulemans, K., Scarff, C. (2015), Teaching organizational change management for sustainability: designing and delivering a course at the University of Leeds to better prepare future sustainability change agents. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 106, pp. 205-215.
[31] Nicol, L. & Preece, A. (2021), Go compares – The emerging threat to higher education. University World News. The Global Window on Higher Education. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210517102802250.
[32] NYSED (2018), New York State Education Department: Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/programs/crs/culturally-responsive-sustaining-education-framework.pdf.
[33] O’Malley, B. (2020), EC sets out vision for future of European Research Area University World News (2020). https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20201002103601210.
[34] Simón, J.; Mirabet, S.; Fernández, J. (2020), Projects with added value to increase competitiveness and student satisfaction. Case study: The renewal of the BA in Advertising and Public Relations. University of Girona. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1027-1035. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.11189.
[35] The Guild (2020) Recommendations for developing the European Education Area. The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities and Bern Open Publishing. DOI: 10.7892/boris.145050.
[36] Timmermans, F. & Katainen J. (2019), Reflection paper - Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030. European Commission.
[37] Vann, J., Pacheco, P., Motloch, J., (2006), Cross-cultural education for sustainability: development of an introduction to sustainability course. Journal of Clean Production, Vol 14, pp. 900-905, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.01.002.
[38] Wang, M.-T., & Eccles, J. S. (2012), Adolescent behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement trajectories in school and their differential relations to educational success. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22 (1), 31–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2011.00753.x.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Garcia Jordi, Alvado Anna, Sorribes Joan, Boyra Josep. (2022). The Challenges of Higher Education and its Contribution to Sustainable Development. Higher Education Research, 7(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20220701.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Garcia Jordi; Alvado Anna; Sorribes Joan; Boyra Josep. The Challenges of Higher Education and its Contribution to Sustainable Development. High. Educ. Res. 2022, 7(1), 1-9. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20220701.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Garcia Jordi, Alvado Anna, Sorribes Joan, Boyra Josep. The Challenges of Higher Education and its Contribution to Sustainable Development. High Educ Res. 2022;7(1):1-9. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20220701.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.her.20220701.11,
      author = {Garcia Jordi and Alvado Anna and Sorribes Joan and Boyra Josep},
      title = {The Challenges of Higher Education and its Contribution to Sustainable Development},
      journal = {Higher Education Research},
      volume = {7},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-9},
      doi = {10.11648/j.her.20220701.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20220701.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.her.20220701.11},
      abstract = {This research article deeps on higher education institution challenges in terms of governance, internationalization, research, student engagement and sustainability within an innovative and adaptative higher education academic framework necessary to achieve the challenges ahead in a highly competitive and technologically changing environment. With this purpose a series of university strategic challenges are reviewed and analyzed in order to tackle and establish the expected degree of quality and excellence that these higher education institutions must achieve and maintain over time. The main objective of this research article is to demonstrate from a deductive approach the hypothesis that a consistent and successful student professional development is based on the fulfillment of a demanding and stimulating academic experience through critical spirit awareness, research capacity empowerment and the acquisition of skills and knowledge delivered by an academic institution capable to ensure student engagement along with specific in-company training as fundamental components for achieving a graduate’s lasting professional competitiveness able to cope with the current environmental, economic and social challenges ahead.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Challenges of Higher Education and its Contribution to Sustainable Development
    AU  - Garcia Jordi
    AU  - Alvado Anna
    AU  - Sorribes Joan
    AU  - Boyra Josep
    Y1  - 2022/01/24
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20220701.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.her.20220701.11
    T2  - Higher Education Research
    JF  - Higher Education Research
    JO  - Higher Education Research
    SP  - 1
    EP  - 9
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2578-935X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20220701.11
    AB  - This research article deeps on higher education institution challenges in terms of governance, internationalization, research, student engagement and sustainability within an innovative and adaptative higher education academic framework necessary to achieve the challenges ahead in a highly competitive and technologically changing environment. With this purpose a series of university strategic challenges are reviewed and analyzed in order to tackle and establish the expected degree of quality and excellence that these higher education institutions must achieve and maintain over time. The main objective of this research article is to demonstrate from a deductive approach the hypothesis that a consistent and successful student professional development is based on the fulfillment of a demanding and stimulating academic experience through critical spirit awareness, research capacity empowerment and the acquisition of skills and knowledge delivered by an academic institution capable to ensure student engagement along with specific in-company training as fundamental components for achieving a graduate’s lasting professional competitiveness able to cope with the current environmental, economic and social challenges ahead.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Escola Universitària Formatic Barcelona, Universitat de Girona, Barcelona, Spain

  • Escola Universitària Formatic Barcelona, Universitat de Girona, Barcelona, Spain

  • Escola Universitària Formatic Barcelona, Universitat de Girona, Barcelona, Spain

  • Escola Universitària Formatic Barcelona, Universitat de Girona, Barcelona, Spain

  • Sections