Accelerate Universities Role for the Implementation of the UN SDGs 2030 

Today, more than ever before in human history, the wealth or poverty of nations depends on the quality of HE. Revolutionary breakthroughs in the knowledge economy are leading to remarkable changes in the way forward-looking nations capacitate their graduates. In this era of global skills and knowledge race, all universities cannot fail to realise, accept and accomplish its natural and ascribed roles as a strategic agent for national development. Universities are also at the heart of the 17 SDGs of the UN 2030 Agenda particularly at this new era of digital revolution particularly post Covid-19 global pandemic.

According to the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) 2019 report titled “Strengthening the policy research uptake in service of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development”, achieving the 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda requires evidence-based policies and planning at every level; therefore, the workshop will also include substantial components on evidence-based research and policy planning. Moreover, the JIU 2016 report “Knowledge Management in the United nations Sytem“, identified the important contribution of Knowledge Management (KM) to the implementation of the new holistic and collaborative approach on which the 2030 Agenda is based. JIU argued that knowledge can be the most natural integrative factor system-wide and for all the stakeholders in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Whilst there has been a tremendous growth in size, the expansion of HE in almost all parts of the world, this expansion has caused average quality of education in many countries to decline as resources are stretched increasingly thin. Essentially, the expansion has been less differentiated and, therefore, ill-planned to confront emergent development needs. Rather, what is evident is a stupendous replication of traditional disciplinary-based techniques of knowledge production. These have, nevertheless, increased the richness of knowledge about the universe we live in but without apparently translating or transforming the catchment societal environments in terms of measurable productive capacities. Many scholars and policy makers have called for a transformative innovation agenda which embraces radical change for new synthesis and approaches for transforming HE in many countries.

The workshop will also examine the role of the private sector together with the public sector (please refer to the JIU 2018 report on the Role of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the Implementation of Agenda 2030 for more details and recommendations). Both the public and private sector organisations are confronted by environmental factors such as economic, political, sociological, technological, and legal challenges. The need for leaders at all levels to successfully meet these challenges requires a comprehensive appreciation and understanding of their roles, goals and the expected competencies.

The key objectives of the workshop are: