Sustainable Development of Higher Education: Pathways, Challenges, and Innovations Toward 2030
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 February 2027 | Viewed by 392
Editors
Interests: communication and media; higher education; social action; sustainability
Interests: communication; sustainability; CSR; sociology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Sustainable development in higher education has evolved from discrete environmental initiatives toward holistic institutional transformation, yet the existing literature extensively covers campus operations (energy efficiency, waste management, etc.) and education for sustainable development (ESD) curriculum integration. However, critical gaps persist in understanding organizational culture change, equity and community co-creation, cross-sector partnerships, and systemic governance models essential for achieving SDG 4.7 and institutional contributions to all 17 SDGs by 2030.
This Special Issue aligns with Sustainability's mission to advance interdisciplinary sustainability science by examining higher education institutions (HEIs) as catalysts for systemic sustainable development. We seek original research bridging theory and practice across HEI core functions—teaching, research, operations, governance, and community engagement—contributing actionable insights for institutional transformation.
(3) Suggest Themes
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but need not be limited to, the following topics:
- Campus operations and infrastructure: Circular economy models, energy transition, zero-waste systems, and green procurement;
- Teaching and learning: ESD curriculum integration across disciplines, interdisciplinary pedagogies, and student behavioral change;
- Research, innovation and knowledge transfer: sustainability research agendas, innovation ecosystems, and university–industry collaborations;
- Governance and institutional strategy: leadership models, stakeholder engagement, policy frameworks, and organizational culture transformation;
- Equity, inclusion, and social justice: just transitions, Global South perspectives, decolonization of sustainability knowledge, access equity, and inclusive pedagogy;
- Community and regional partnerships: co-creation models, participatory governance, and place-based sustainability initiatives;
- Assessment and measurement: sustainability metrics, equity indicators, longitudinal impact studies, and evidence-based monitoring;
- Digital transformation: EdTech sustainability applications, green IT infrastructure, and AI for sustainability decision-making.
Original research articles, systematic reviews, and case studies are welcome.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Mariana Cernicova-Buca
Prof. Dr. Vasile Gherheș
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- sustainable development
- higher education institutions
- education for sustainable development (ESD)
- campus sustainability
- organizational change
- equity and inclusion
- community engagement
- sustainability assessment
- SDG integration
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