Tuija Koivunen, Taru Konst and Mervi Friman
The universities of applied sciences (UASs) in Finland play a significant role in providing skilled professionals with higher education degrees to meet the needs of the labor…
Abstract
Purpose
The universities of applied sciences (UASs) in Finland play a significant role in providing skilled professionals with higher education degrees to meet the needs of the labor market and society as a whole. The purpose of this study is to determine what the staff in these universities consider the role of UASs in promoting sustainable development (SD) to be.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative research data were collected from a survey distributed among UAS staff in the spring of 2021. The data consisted of 831 responses to an open-ended question on how UASs could promote SD and a sense of responsibility for it. The method used for the data analysis was theory-led content analysis.
Findings
Staff at UASs are actively promoting SD in higher education and have many ideas on how to do this, which is encouraging. With further processing of these ideas and support from management, UASs can play a more important role in sustainability work and set an example for how to build a sustainable future.
Originality/value
The promotion of SD is a timely topic, and examples of SD implementation and good practices can promote discussion of the role of higher education institutions in SD promotion and highlight collective ways to promote it.
Details
Keywords
Mervi Friman, Dusan Schreiber, Arto Mutanen, Simu Perälä and Janne Salminen
This study aims to determine how sustainable development (SD) demands (according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) SD themes from 2005) are connected…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to determine how sustainable development (SD) demands (according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) SD themes from 2005) are connected to the contents of education, research, development and innovation (RDI) in higher education institutions (HEI). Education and the RDI nexus may affect HEI’s capability to handle SD-related wicked problems and enhance their societal impact.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examined SD-oriented curricula contents of two universities (Brazil and Finland) and counted the number of SD-related research outcomes. In addition, conceptual modelling was used to analyse the mechanisms that may be directing HEIs’ SD work in local innovation.
Findings
The data showed a convergence deviation in the RDI of SD-related subjects between the two HEIs. There was no correlation between SD-oriented education and RDI-work in either HEI. Education and RDI processes have different UNECE SD themes at the focal point, and the education-research nexus is lacking. This difference indicates that new SD-related knowledge produced through RDI was not effectively used in education. Modelling revealed that the convergence in RDI outcomes arose from the same kind of local business, industry and societal challenges, implementing effective stakeholder pressures into HEIs. The results may indicate that stakeholder SD needs were not directly transferred into the competence qualification of the curriculum.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to reveal the independence of universities’ SD-related RDI subjects on educational curricula.
Details
Keywords
Janne Salminen, Mervi Friman, Kari Mikkonen and Arto Mutanen
This study aims to fill data gaps concerning solutions and practices used in sustainable food systems (SFS) in higher education (HE). The development of SFS is a vital global…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to fill data gaps concerning solutions and practices used in sustainable food systems (SFS) in higher education (HE). The development of SFS is a vital global challenge in which HE may play a significant role.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature search and content analysis of found papers were performed. Additionally, the quantitative time trend of the emergence of research connected to SFS HE and the connectivity of content within the research papers about research questions were determined by regression analysis and data visualization, respectively.
Findings
It is evident that SFS education in universities (higher education institutes) is emerging, and the number of research papers is rapidly increasing. In the reviewed papers, universities recognized their significant role in managing wicked problems. The motivation for developing SFS education was high, with strong ambitions. SFS in HE includes developing education in-house through trans- and multidisciplinary solutions, developing education with stakeholders and supporting student growth to become responsible professionals and citizens.
Practical implications
When developing SFS education in HE both practical and theoretical research is needed. Ethical dimensions should be included in both research orientations because of the moral complexity that exists in SFS issues.
Social implications
This study shows that competence in trans- and multidisciplinary working is needed. Concomitantly, the ability of cooperation between HE, business and society is vital when solving global food challenges. Also, the local tradition of food cultivation should be respected and maintained.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first review on the development of SFS education in HEIs. A qualitative content analysis and data visualization were used to enrich the review.