Prelims

Half Title Page

Higher Education for the Sustainable Development Goals

Endorsement Page

This book’s unique focus on Global North and Global South perspectives on the role that HEIs can play in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals makes it a must read for both policy makers and researchers.

—Prof Melissa S. Fisher, Cultural Anthropologist Visiting Scholar, NYU Institute for Public Knowledge

Human activity has placed significant pressure on our planet’s resources, yet HEIs have failed to successfully harness our intellectual capacity to ensure a habitable future. HEI’s should play a pivotal role in helping create a future in which socioeconomic prosperity is shared across the globe on a healthy and sustainable planet. This can be achieved through innovation and the exploration of more just and sustainable futures. In this context, an evolution of HEI’s must occur bridging existing gaps between the Global North and South. A new formulation of HEI’s must be designed to substantially contribute to this global mission and by accelerating innovation and producing much larger research, teaching, and real-world impact in critical areas that meet the urgent human and planetary crises now and into the future. This book goes a long way to addressing these critical issues.

—Prof Eusebio Scornavacca, Interim Director & Professor of Innovation Policy – School for the Future of Innovation in Society, College of Global Futures; and Professor of Global Digital Innovation – Thunderbird School of Global Management, USA

Title Page

Higher Education for the Sustainable Development Goals: Bridging the Global North and South

EDITED BY

LEONARDO CAPORARELLO

SDA Bocconi School of Management, Italy

PAYAL KUMAR

Indian School of Hospitality, India

AND

ANIRUDH AGRAWAL

O.P. Jindal Global University, India

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

First edition 2024

Editorial matter and selection © 2024 Leonardo Caporarello, Payal Kumar and Anirudh Agrawal.

Individual chapters © 2024 The authors.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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ISBN: 978-1-80382-526-7 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-525-0 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-527-4 (Epub)

Contents

List of Figures and Tables

Figures

Tables

About the Editors

Leonardo Caporarello, PhD, is the Associate Dean for Online Learning Experiences and Professor of Practice of Leadership and Negotiation at SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy), where he’s also the Academic Director of the Learning Lab. Leonardo is the Rector’s Delegate for Digital Learning at Bocconi University (Italy), and the Director of BUILT – Bocconi University Innovations in Learning and Teaching. Leonardo is Member of the Leadership Team of the Management Education and Development Division of the Academy of Management (USA), and of the Advisory Board of e-Learning & Innovative Pedagogies Research Network (USA).

His main research and teaching activities focus on the following topics: multi-cultural negotiation processes; conflict management; change management dynamics; leading teams, in a co-located and virtual setting; analysis and redesign of organizational structures and processes; and designing effective online and blended learning experiences.

He is Author of many articles in international journals and of several books. Leonardo is Associate Editor of the Journal of Contemporary Business Studies, and Vice President for Education of the ItAIS. Recently, he has been recognized as Top 50 Global Thought Leaders & Influencers on Change Management, 2020 and 2021; and Top 50 Global Thought Leaders & Influencers on EdTech, 2020 and 2022, Thinkers360.

Payal Kumar is Principal Academic Advisor at Indian School of Hospitality, India, the South Asian Ambassador for Academy of Management Discoveries Journal, and Emerald Publisher Brand Ambassador. She completed her Master of Arts from the School of Oriental and African Studies, UK, and PhD from XLRI, India. As a Researcher, her accolades include the best symposium for the MED division, Academy of Management Conference, Seattle, USA, 2022 and the Andre Delbecq & Lee Robbins MSR (Academy of Management) Scholarship. She is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion, and Senior Reviewer for top journals such as Journal of Organization Behaviour. She has published 17 books so far, including a 5-volume series on Leadership and Followership (Palgrave Macmillan). In an earlier avatar, she was Vice President of Editorial and Production at SAGE Publications Ltd.

Anirudh Agrawal is an Associate Professor at O.P. Jindal Global University. He is also a Visiting Fellow at The Prague University of Economics and Business in Prague and an Academic Consultant for TVARIT Gmbh. He completed his doctoral studies at Copenhagen Business School under Prof. Kai Hockerts within the thematic area of sustainability, strategy, and entrepreneurship. He holds a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from INSA Lyon and Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College. He has a certificate in strategy and supply chain from HEC Paris. He was associated with Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Bennett University, FLAME University, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, ESIEIB (Spain) and Valeo (Lyon).

His teaching interests include corporate strategy, entrepreneurship, CSR, sustainable management, and social entrepreneurship. To develop his teaching abilities, he has taken courses at Copenhagen Business School, Harvard Business School, and FLAME University. He has researched sustainable business and revenue models involving impact investing, social entrepreneurship, and micro-finance. He has published 30 research articles at peer-reviewed journals, books, and book chapters. He is currently working on his fourth book and has multiple research articles in pipelines all related to sustainability, organizational strategy, and the future of work.

About the Contributors

Asad Abbas received the Master’s degree in Informatics from Örebro University, Sweden, and the Doctor of Management Science degree in Public Administration from the University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China. He is currently a Research Professor in the Institute for the Future of Education, and a Visiting Professor in the School of Government and Public Transformation at Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico. He is a Member of the National System of Researchers (SNI) in the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) of Mexico. He has several publications in highly reputed journals and international conference proceedings and is part of Editorial Board and Reviewer of many prestigious, indexed international journals and conferences. His current research focuses on public management and policy, strategic and innovation management, information systems, soft skills, and higher education.

Maria D. Alvarez is a Professor of Tourism Marketing and UNWTO Education Centre Coordinator at Boğaziçi University. Undergraduate: Law and Business Administration – Universidad de Deusto (Spain) 1989; Graduate: European Union Law – Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) 1990 and Business Administration – Cornell University (New York, USA) 1993; PhD: Marketing – Boğaziçi University (Turkey) 2003. She has been involved in several and international research and destination development projects in collaboration with the UNDP, UNESCO, UNWTO, and Regional Development Agencies. Her research interests are: destination marketing (Destination image/Destination risk), tourist behaviour, and sustainable destination development.

Gianluca Antonucci, MSc London School of Economics and PhD University of Rome Tor Vergata, is Assistant Professor at ‘G. d’Annunzio’ University of Chieti – Pescara (Italy), where he is tenure of the courses: ‘Sustainability Reporting’ (Master degree in Economics and Management), ‘Management of Sports Organisations’ (degree in Sport Sciences), and ‘Business Economics of building Sector’ (degree in Building Construction). His research focuses on: sustainability, co-production, public accountability, management of public services, and management of Sport Organizations.

Anil Yasin Ar received his PhD in International Business and MSc in Organizational Leadership from the Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, New Hampshire. He is currently Professor in the Business School, Department of International Business and Logistic at Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Queretaro, Mexico. His main research interests are in corporate social responsibility, international business strategy, and sustainability.

Leyla Azizi has studied Finance and Auditing at the University of Hamburg. After receiving a MSc Degree, she got a doctoral scholarship from Hanns-Seidel-Foundation and started her PhD that was focussed on sustainability management and reporting at universities. Since April 2021 she is a Research Associate at the Chair of Business Administration, esp. Environmental Management at the Technische Universität Dresden. Her research fields are sustainability management and reporting at universities and in business sector. Her research was published in International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Journal of Business Economics, and Journal of Cleaner Production. Her current project is ‘University Sustainability Indicator Monitoring System (UNISIMS)’. The project deals with the development of qualitative and quantitative indicators for measurement of and reporting on sustainability.

Bengi Ertuna, is a Professor in the Department of Tourism Administration at Bogazici University. She has received her PhD degree in 1995 in Finance from the Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences at Bogazici University. Her research interests include corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, business engagement with sustainable development, sustainable tourism, and sustainability education. She is a part of the Editorial Board and serves as a Reviewer in prestigious tourism and hospitality journals. She has also participated in many national and international tourism development projects, particularly those focusing on assessing and monitoring impacts for community wellbeing.

Yu-Shan Lin Feuer is Research Associate at the Technische Universität Dresden (TUD). Under the Chair of Environmental Management of International Institute (IHI) Zittau at TUD, she dedicates herself to the research fields of biodiversity management in the textile industry and in higher education institutions. She held a teaching position in modules Biodiversity Management and Sustainability as well as Environmental Communication and Responsibility at IHI Zittau, TUD. Together with Prof. Sassen, they were awarded an eku-Prize from Saxon State Ministry for Energy, Climate Protection, Environment and Agriculture and executed the project ‘Saxon Network for Biodiversity-Friendly Textiles’, aiming to raise awareness of the urgency in biodiversity loss and discuss potential actions to overcome it with textile companies. Together with colleagues, they initiated a working group at TUD on biodiversity and ecosystem services to implement biodiversity preservation projects with active stakeholders at the TUD campus and further develop research in this area.

Danna Greenberg is the Walter H. Carpenter Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Babson College, where she also serves as Management Division Chair. Danna’s research focuses on how individuals navigate the interface between work, family, and community as their careers and lives evolve. By challenging current assumptions regarding work, she explores pathways for businesses, families, and communities to thrive. She has received wide praise for her book on this topic, Maternal Optimism, co-written with Jamie Ladge. She is also passionate about management education and learning and how the professorial role, pedagogical stance and career, intersect with student learning. She is currently finishing her second term as Associate Editor at Academy of Management Learning and Education. Some of her recent research can be found in Academy of Management Perspectives, Academy of Management Journal, and Academy of Management Learning and Education.

Hussein Haruna is an Educational Innovation Researcher. He received his PhD at the Division of Information and Technology Studies, Faculty of Education, the University of Hong Kong and Master of Information Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam. His research interest includes game-based learning, gamification, technology-enhanced learning, participatory design research, design-based research, digital technologies in education, and information technology in education.

Burcin Kalabay Hatipoglu was a Full-time Faculty Member at Bogazici University’s Tourism Administration Department in Istanbul between 2006 and 2020. During her tenure, she taught courses on management and sustainability. She has been involved in numerous sustainable development projects over the last 15 years, consulting government and industry organizations. She has also published various articles on sustainable tourism, education for sustainability, and sustainable development. Additionally, she co-founded Heritage and SlowTourismLab (2020–2022) and is a Visiting Fellow at the School of Business, Canberra, UNSW, Industrial Relations Research Group (IRRG), and Public Service Research Group (PSRG).

James Hunt is Associate Professor of Management at Babson College where he teaches organizational behaviour, entrepreneurship, and sustainability. He has been a Faculty Member of Babson College’s flagship course, Foundations of Entrepreneurship and Management, for the past 14 years. James co-created and taught the advanced interdisciplinary course, ‘Unintended Consequences: At the Interface of Business and the Environment’ with environmental scientist Joanna Carey. James is the Co-author, with Joseph Weintraub, of two books, The Coaching Manager: Developing Top Talent in Business, third edition and The Coaching Organization: A Strategy for Developing Leaders (Sage Publishing). He was a Co-founder of Babson’s leadership development program, ‘Coaching for Leadership and Teamwork’. James is a Former Chair of the Management Division at Babson. James received a DBA from Boston University. He is also a Fine Art and Environmental Photographer, focusing on the interaction of humans and the environment.

Chitalu Kabwe (Adams) is an Associate Professor of Human Resource Management at Limestone University, SC, USA. She earned her PhD from the University of Central Lancashire, UK focusing on the contemporary topic of talent management in European Multinationals. She has professional certification in HRM for both the USA and UK. Her research interests are around the topics of Talent Management, International HRM, and Sustainable HRM. She is a Regular Reviewer for European Academy of Management conference and British Academy of Management conference. She has presented over 15 research papers at international conferences such as the Global International HRM conference, European Academy of Management, British Academy of Management to mention but a few. She has also published papers in reputable journals, such as the Thunderbird International Business Review. Recent research include sustainability through human capital investment on a water and sanitation project – Northern Uganda – the project was rooted in the UN Global Sustainability Goals (UNSDG) – specifically addressing Goal 6: ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’, her focus was on local capacity building within a highly contextualized region which needed a consideration of path dependencies and levels of confidence in a region where people feel ‘left behind’.

Mariam Kakkar, PhD, is the Head of Learning and Development Centre at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Mariam has almost 20 years of experience in the UN system and is specialized in human resources, organizational development, global leadership, technology-enhanced learning, talent management, and executive education.

Rajeshwari Krishnamurthy is the Area Chair (Marketing) at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai. She is also a Senior Associate Professor in the Marketing area. Prior to this, she completed her PhD from IIT Madras and served as a Faculty Member at XLRI, Jamshedpur. She completed her postgraduation from IIM Ahmedabad in 1994 and is a Visiting Faculty at various IIMs in the country.

A consistent academic topper, Rajeshwari has a total professional experience of 27 years – of which 16 years was in the industry in sales and Marketing (Unilever, Nippon Paint, etc.) and 11 years in Academia. She won the Chairman Award for Sales Management in her Unilever stint at a very early age; her last corporate position was Vice President Marketing and Branding. She has been responsible for managing both the topline and bottom-line results of many organizations and has travelled extensively – both domestic and International – while dealing with many cross-cultural teams.

Rajeshwari has authored three books (two-solo) – the first one was titled ‘My Life My Choice’ – published by Macmillan in 2011 and was about mid-life career choices. The second one was a reference text book for B Schools and was titled ‘New Product development – a FMCG Perspective’, released in 2017. The third one is a recently launched one titled ‘The New Plan A’ (2018) – and focuses on the various mid-life career challenges faced by working women and the stakeholder interventions required for them to resume their careers. Rajeshwari is a Regular Columnist in the Hindu Business Line and has published several articles and case studies in International as well as domestic journals. She has also authored over 30 articles in The Hindu Business Line between 2016 and 2018 and in other leading business dailies in India. She also conducts webinars on various management topics.

Ting-Yu Lin was born in Taiwan, and she finished BS in Environmental Engineering and Science from Feng-Chia University. Afterwards, she worked as an Engineering Assistant in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). She cared about nature and kept following international environmental issues. At the same time, she also joined various outdoor activities in Taiwan. From free-diving and mountain climbing activities, she noticed that the nature was destroyed rapidly and the pollution was everywhere. To acquire a further level of knowledge about environmental protection, she went to Germany for her Master’s degree in Ecosystem Services at Technische Universität Dresden (TUD).

During her academic pursuing, she focussed on the importance and the relations between biodiversity and ecosystem services, and got an internship in a working group under the Chair of Environmental Management of International Institute (IHI) Zittau at TUD. The working group is to implement biodiversity preservation projects at the TUD campus and further develop research. In 2022, she received her MS degree and her research on the field of biodiversity management and textile industry.

Chhayabrita Maji has her qualification from the UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, India (PhD). She received the prestigious Marie Skłodowska–Curie Fellowship of European Union during her post doctorate at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Germany. She has immense research and teaching experience, and her research interest is in the field of developing sustainable materials for the sustainability of new environment friendly technologies, quantum devices, and nanoscience. She has several publications to her credit in internationally reputed high impact journals of American Physical Society, American Institute of Physics, Elsevier, Institute of Physics London, etc. She has received many awards like S.N. Bose Fellowship, DST-Woman Scientist Fellowship, Women in Science (Indian Institute of Metals, Bhubaneswar chapter), etc. She is, also, Lifetime Member of Material Research Society of India, and Electron Microscopy Society of India. She is presently an Associate Professor at BML Munjal University, Haryana, India. She aspires to shape the young enthusiastic minds towards a sustainable ecosystem.

André Martinuzzi is the Founding Director of the Institute for Managing (www.SUSTAINABILITY.eu) and Associate Professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (www.WU.ac.at). For about 20 years he has coordinated international research projects in the areas of sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, and responsible research and innovation. He applied experiential learning methods in his courses on bachelor, master, and PhD level since the mid-1990s and won twice a best of Austria Education for Sustainable Development Award.

Susanne Martinuzzi is a University Lecturer at the University College of Teacher Education in Vienna, focusing on professionalism in the teaching and didactic implementation of competence-oriented teaching. Since 2001, she has offered continuing education courses for teachers, and since 2007, the training of primary school teachers has also been a central area of her work. From 2009 to 2020 she was Head of an Institute at the Vienna University of Teacher Education, where she initiated and implemented innovations in higher education didactics.

Supriya Pattanayak has her qualifications from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (MA) and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (MPhil), India and RMIT University, Australia (PhD). She has extensive teaching, research and policy experience, and her research interest is in the field of gender and development, sustainable livelihoods, research methodologies, and social work pedagogies in different contexts. She has several publications to her credit. She has worked with NGOs, multilateral and bilateral agencies, federal and state Governments and Universities in India and Australia. She is presently the Vice Chancellor of the Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM), Odisha, India. She is an Industry Liaison Person with RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia and also Research Fellow at the St Petersburg State University, Russia. Further, she is a Director in several companies: Esse Naturals and Nutrition Private Limited, Global Competency Assessment and Accreditation Guilds Private Limited, to name a few. She is also on the Board of Governors of the Chetana’s Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, India.

Christine Phiri-Mushibwe is a Vice Chancellor at Unicaf University Zambia. She has a PhD from University of Huddersfield, UK; where she worked as a Lead Tutor (teaching in Universities in China). She is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at University of Huddersfield. She has worked in several Universities in Zambia in her leadership capacity and is currently serving as Vice Chancellor at Unicaf University Zambia. Christine has an excellent record in academic and institutional leadership, an experienced HR professional and Consultant. She has served in various HEIs in leadership portfolios. She earned several prestigious awards. Christine is a Co-founder of an NGO called Training Teachers for Community Schools in Zambia (TTCSZ) (https//www.teachers4zambia.org). She is also a Co-founder of Lusaka Open Business College. Currently, she is the Chair of the Advisory Body at Campaign for Female Education (Camfed), a Patroness of Be Relevant Africa, a Board Member of COLD and GARA, respectively. Christine authored many books and published several journals and contributed chapters to books. She supervises and examines several PhD students. She is a Reviewer of books and journals, an established Corporate Trainer, an Outstanding Public Speaker and Keynote Speaker at various conferences. She is a Mentor of many.

Elia Pizzolitto is an Italian Researcher, Professor, and Self-employed Professional in the field of education and music. He took a Bachelor of Science in Economics, a Master of Science in Economics, a Post Graduate Certificate in Business Research Methods, and a PhD in Accounting Management and Business Economics. He teaches mathematics, statistics, microeconomics, macroeconomics, and music. He is an Adjunct Professor in Advanced Management of Non-profit Organizations at the University Ca’ Foscari of Venice. His research interests include higher education, psychology and vocational identity, authoritarian leadership styles, and music. He regularly publishes in international journals and books and participates in international conferences as a speaker. He is a Guest Editor at the European Scientific Journal and regularly participates in reviewing activities for many international journals.

Danica Radovanović, PhD, is a Senior Associate Researcher at the University of Oslo (UiO) for digital social innovation and postgraduate curriculum development projects. Previously, she has worked as a Child Online Protection expert for the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), for the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization as an Information Management Specialist, and as a Digital Inclusion Advisor at the Basic Internet Foundation. Danica is a PhD Chevening Scholar at the Oxford Internet Institute (University of Oxford), and a Doctoral Graduate from the Faculty of Technical Sciences, Novi Sad. Her work encompasses both research and development regarding societal aspects of digital transformation and inclusion, digital literacy, and online safety. Radovanović has published two books and more than 40 journal articles, book chapters, reviews, and essays.

Garima Sahay is currently pursuing her MBA with Marketing as major from Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Technology from National Institute of Fashion Technology. Her areas of specialization include marketing, branding, marketing research, sales, consulting, business operations, and retail planning with special interest in the field of luxury brand management, corporate sustainability, and fashion journalism.

Remmer Sassen is a Distinguished Scholar and Expert in the field of business administration, specializing in sustainability management and reporting. He obtained his PhD in Economics from the University of Hamburg. He pursued habilitation, focusing on the impact of corporate governance on organizational control and reporting. From 2016 to 2021, he led the Sustainability Reporting division in the collaborative project ‘Sustainability at Universities (HOCHN)’, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Since 2017, Sassen has served as a Lecturer and, as of October 2020, as the Professor of Business Administration, particularly specializing in environmental management, at the TU Dresden. He holds the position of representative for the Professorship of Business Administration, specifically focusing on Sustainability Management and Corporate Environmental Economics at the Faculty of Business and Economics. He actively participates in various scholarly commissions and associations, including serving as an Assistant Editor for the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (IJSHE) and being a Member of PRISMA – Centre for Sustainability Assessment and Policy. He is also involved in the Corporate Governance Reporting Working Group of the Schmalenbach Society for Business Administration and a Member of the Association of Business Administration Professors.

Angelo Spörk worked as a Radio Presenter, Editor and Program Designer in Austria and Germany for more than five years. He is currently studying Business Law and specializes in experiential learning methods in higher education. At the Institute for Managing Sustainability, he is leading the communication of complex scientific knowledge and works as a Video Producer for European projects, such as www.LIVING-INNOVATION.net and www.RE-SOURCING.eu.

Scott N. Taylor is a Professor of Organizational Behaviour and the Arthur M. Blank Endowed Chair for Values-Based Leadership at The Blank School at Babson College. He is also a Research Fellow with the Coaching Research Lab at Case Western Reserve University, a Member of the Institute of Coaching (IOC) at McLean, Harvard Medical School Affiliate, a Founding Member of the International Coaching Federation’s (ICF) Thought Leadership Institute Global Co-Lab, and a Core Member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations (CREIO). The primary focus of his research is Leader Assessment and Development. As a result, his research has focussed on competency development (especially emotional and social competence), leader self-awareness, 360-degree feedback assessment, executive coaching, gender, and sustainable individual change. Prior to joining Babson College, Scott was an Assistant Professor in the School of Management at Boston University and later an Associate Professor with tenure in the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico. Scott has a BA in Spanish from Brigham Young University. He received an MBA with concentrations in organizational behaviour and human resource policy and a PhD in organizational behaviour from Case Western Reserve University.

Smita Tripathi is a Lecturer at University of Plymouth, Plymouth Business School. She has a PhD in Leadership Studies from the University of Plymouth. She is an Experienced Educator who has taught leadership, human resource management, and organizational change since 2003 at University of Plymouth. She is actively engaged in shared and collaborative leadership focussed research in public health, crisis, and change, and, more recently, the pandemic and environmental sustainability. Her current research focuses on the clear actionable steps that strategic leaders can take to improve environmental sustainability through collaboration with stakeholders and how future and current leaders can work together to tackle some of the wicked issues and challenges of our time.

Sustainability: Supporting the Greener NHS agenda ‘Through the Voices of Allied Health Professionals’ (2022). Besides, with international colleagues she is investigating the Role of Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through collaboration and partnership working in Zambia (2021–2022).

An academic and sustainable governance champion, she is on the Advisory Board (AB) for ‘Generation Delta’ project (2022–2026 funded by OfS and Research England) and has been associated with the governance of numerous charities in the South West.

Lucy Turner is Assistant Professor of Practice in Organizational Behaviour at Babson College. During her career Lucy has worked in both academia and with private sector start-ups. Her expertise lies in helping organizations scale through developing talent, nurturing company culture, and implementing process. Lucy has also worked in career services at Babson College to prepare students for professional and personal development. Her academic and practice interests include facilitating student self-discovery and confidence building. Currently, she teaches in the Undergraduate, Graduate and Executive Education programs at Babson. She is a Faculty Member of Babson College’s flagship course, Foundations of Entrepreneurship and Management. Lucy earned an MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurship from Babson College and holds BA in Psychology from Newbury College.

Stella-Maria Yerokhin completed her Bachelor of Science degree at the Technical University of Dresden (TUD). She is currently in the second semester of her Master’s program in Business Administration at TUD, specializing in Environmental Management with a focus on Biodiversity and Sustainability Reporting. During her Bachelor’s studies, she already emphasized her interest in Sustainability Management and Energy Economics. In 2022, she worked alongside Mrs Lin Feuer at the Chair of Business Administration, particularly in the field of Environmental Management, as part of the eku-project ‘Saxon Network for Biodiversity-Friendly Textiles’. This experience provided her with valuable professional exposure. Another significant milestone is her involvement in the ‘University Sustainability Indicator Monitoring System (UNISIMS)’ project. This project funded by Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt aims to explore sustainability indicators in the areas of Teaching, Research, Knowledge Transfer, Governance, and Operations, and establish them through an indicator catalogue in German universities. She contributed to this project, further expanding her knowledge in the field of sustainability. Mrs Yerokhin aspires to pursue an academic career and has a keen interest in researching Sustainability Reporting. Her educational background and professional experience prepare her well for this path, and she is determined to contribute to the advancement of sustainable development.

Stefano Za is Associate Professor of Organization Studies and Information Systems at University ‘G. d’Annunzio’ of Chieti – Pescara. He is a Member of ERCIS (www.ergis.org) and the President of the Italian chapter of AIS (http://www.itais.org). He is a Member of Program Committees and Reviewer for national and international conferences and journals in the domains of Information Systems and Organization Studies. His main research interest is the analysis and design of digital artefacts and organizational systems. He is currently focussed on digital innovations and business transformation affecting people and organizations in the digital ecosystem. He has published in international conference proceedings (e.g. ICIS, ECIS, HICSS), journals (e.g. GIQ, I&M, CAIS, ISeBM), and book series.

Foreword

Education has always been an important aspect of my life. My father, who grew up in Afghanistan was given a unique opportunity to unleash his potential through an inclusive, high-quality education supported by the United Nations (UN) system. He instilled in me the drive to never stop learning, to pursue continuous learning and have an infinite mindset.

I hold a PhD in Education Technology, and I have witnessed firsthand how technology has profoundly changed education. Today massive amounts of information (books, audio, images, and videos) are available at one’s fingertips through the Internet, and opportunities for formal learning are accessible online worldwide through Coursera, the Khan Academy and FutureLearn, among others.

I joined the UN when the focus was on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which then witnessed the transition towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Sustainable Development Goals Report 20221 paints a worrying picture of our progress. It states that ‘cascading and interlinked crises are putting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in grave danger, along with humanity’s very own survival’.

Climate change presents the single biggest threat to sustainable development. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed called for a holistic approach2 in addressing the drivers of environmental degradation and for strengthening nature’s capacity to protect us from hazards and extreme events. He spoke at the General Assembly’s high-level thematic debate titled ‘Moment for Nature’ in New York. The Global Goals are inherently interconnected. Action taken towards one goal can support or hinder the achievement of others.

UNESCO argues that having a holistic approach to education is essential to address global development challenges. UNESCO leads the global Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) agenda3 and actively supports education on biodiversity.

Business schools have a critical role to play today in educating future leaders in corporations, governments, universities, and international organizations. As crucial as the SDGs are, they aren’t written in a language that is familiar to business schools or most academic institutions, and there are no clear directives on how students can internalize this in their thinking, nor how teachers can integrate this into their curriculum. An article published in the Internal Journal of Management Education4 points to numerous challenges in teaching SDGs in higher education.

I love museums because they offer a glimpse into the history of mankind. In most paintings depicting education, there are ancient scenes of schools. The teacher lectures from a podium at the front of the room while the students sit in rows and listen. Many classrooms today around the world do not look much different, except maybe now it is on a screen and students are sitting behind a computer screen. Traditionally, SDG education was implemented through a traditional approach: defining the problem, addressing the variables that make it complicated, and agreeing on the best way forward. Because of the latest research this book offers, we know that fact-based education in SDGs will not change our future, but rather that a radical approach centred around the following principles is needed.