Sustainable development

The science is ‘just physics’ and the human chemistry matters more, says academic behind a sustainable development programme that’s going global

If rich countries poach your nurses you should ‘build more nursing schools’, conference hears

Most initiatives are well-meaning but ‘short-term, scattered, uncoordinated and incoherent’

New thematic analysis reveals the countries and institutions that are walking the talk on sustainability 

Universities have helped some countries become leaders in fields linked to specific SDGs, thanks to their outreach efforts, meticulous data collection and creative campus/community initiatives. Rosa Ellis reports

African participation doubles, while institutions outside powerhouse of South Africa are becoming more visible

Progress in North America and Asia helps to push up number of institutions committing to withdraw funds from fossil fuel companies

Stronger leadership, fresher thinking and better incentives needed to drive action on sustainability, says Auckland vice-chancellor

Head of Macau University of Science and Technology explains how strategic importance of region is growing as its economy matures

University of Technology Sydney head on achieving impact on policy and sustainability by building partnerships, fossil fuel divestment and boosting Indigenous enrolment

More universities are adopting green financing. Their approaches must have verifiable outcomes and complement institutions’ overall strategies, says Anton Muscatelli  

Having brokered some of the world’s biggest pacts on global warming, MIT climate scientist Susan Solomon tells Matthew Reisz why she is optimistic that environmental damage can be reversed

Create a shared vision, set ambitious targets and celebrate loudly, advises Zoe Rodwell for keeping a sustainability strategy on track

Limiting sustainability courses to a subset of interested students will no longer work, warns Alison Taylor, as she shares how to prepare the next generation of business leaders

Local partnerships have been the key to our ability to deliver meaningful impact – as the THE Impact Rankings highlight, writes Clare Pollock

Achieving green goals isn’t easy at a centuries-old institution. Giacomo Bergamini and Simona Tondelli of the University of Bologna share their tips for embracing heritage while working towards sustainable development

High-ranking party official suggests campuses outside the elite will have to downsize as university-age population contracts

End of prime minister’s two-decade term brings reflection on sector’s rapid development but also its enduring challenges

Economy is failing to create enough professional jobs for fresh graduates, leaving young voters feeling frustrated

Borderland development set to foster enhanced collaboration with mainland institutions

Project could aid Pakistani economy by boosting wages being sent back home, but Riyadh is yet to signal whether it will play ball

Conference hears that the quality of degrees is at least as important as the quantity and the disciplines

Hesa examines association between productivity and skill levels at local authority level

LSE academic’s book partly inspired by innovation economy divisions in his hometown of Oxford

Wealth inequities ‘a learning tool’ in education geared to ‘whole-person formation’, forum hears

Data shows that universities globally are underperforming in research towards SDG 11, although Oceania is ahead of others

The University of Exeter’s vice-chancellor talks about partnering with businesses, including the controversial decision to keep working with Shell on sustainability

‘The real world doesn’t come neatly compartmentalised,’ summit hears, in exploration of the ‘unique’ strengths of multidisciplinary research

Four years after massive budget cuts, enrolment starts perking up, but with doubts that it can help the remote state recover a dire exodus of talent

Universities are now invited to provide their information for participation in the sustainability-focused ranking

Developing countries should not hesitate to tap the sustainable development expertise abundant in graduate schools, says Lucia Rodriguez 

Sustainability-focused alliance to include institutions from Asian continent and more far-flung Egypt and Brazil

£1.7 billion venture with developer aims to sidestep pitfalls of university innovation districts and create jobs in deprived Greater Manchester towns

Chief executive of world’s oldest university network discusses equity in partnerships, two-way internationalisation and ensuring the UN sees the value of tertiary education

But university insists development ‘must happen for the benefit of everybody who lives in the city and surrounding areas and not at the expense or to the detriment of current residents’

While Australia has long been a favoured education destination for the mountain kingdom, it now hosts a ‘major proportion’ of the population

Opening of colleges running at 10 times the rate of development of new universities

Treasury announces first of 12 zones ‘based around a university and clusters of high-growth industries’

As more universities lay out plans to reduce emissions, the calculations can be almost as tough as the targets

Organisers look to expand programme beyond existing 110 UK-Ukraine partnerships into Europe and North America

Academy ‘at the heart’ of humanity’s failures to get to grips with scale of the issue, warns president of Arizona State University

Science may be the best tool humanity has to improve our social conditions – but we must steer it in the right direction, writes Carolina Torrealba

Newcastle has made environmental justice a core value, aligned all its work with UN goals and built partnerships to drive sustainability and innovation, says vice-chancellor Chris Day

A rapidly declining student population makes closures inevitable – but scholars say where the axe falls should not perpetuate inequalities

Protests target wealthy campuses over housing policies and lack of action on crime and community well-being

As institutions embedded within cities and regions, universities can be the catalysts for local action to address national and global problems

UK universities must think as one with civic leaders and businesses to boost regions as Boston peers have, says influential peer Lord O’Neill

University’s Institute of Technology and proposed innovation district aim to make benefits stick in one of England’s most deprived areas

The principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow discusses the economics of higher education 

Despite shifting power dynamic, centuries-old perceptions of Western superiority persist, scholars say

Chancellor heralds switch of investment zone focus to higher education institutions in ‘left-behind areas’

Science and technology investment fund created by universities of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield injects first capital to fuel innovation shift

Tribal areas get their first public institution since 2018 incorporation, benefiting women unable to seek education further afield

Paper by Times Higher Education explores partnerships and collaboration in relation to Sustainable Development Goals

After long being attuned to primary and secondary needs, lender and donor sees urgency of tertiary-level development

‘Universities can’t sit in isolation’ but academics remain too ‘internally focused’, says Arizona State president

Labour conference hears that levelling up is now ‘dead’ for Tories, meaning alternative vision for regional innovation needed

Land of the free market outpaces UK’s muted ‘levelling up’ with funding to leverage power of universities in struggling regions

Rwandan government and Mastercard Foundation hand over $275 million as institution enters second decade

Soaring youth unemployment could spur outward flight or lead young people to turn away from ambitions of studying abroad