Sustainability in Higher Education

The unforeseen emergence of COVID-19 throughout the world has destroyed the livelihood of the whole world and affected the education system along with libraries and information services. Academic libraries cater for teaching, learning, and research activities in their institutions and play a prominent role in storing, organising, and providing access to information resources for their stakeholders. Libraries play an important role and can adopt new developments in information and communications technology (ICT) along with other tools and techniques to enhance their contributions to teaching, learning, research and institutional visibility. This chapter delineates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education institutions (HEIs) and their libraries and identifies some of the many issues and challenges. The pandemic has revealed numerous opportunities for library and information professionals and exposed innovations that can be implemented in rendering library services to library users during the devastating situation. The chapter briefly explains how libraries can make use of appropriate tools and technologies, adapt to new trends, seize opportunities, and take advantage of emerging communication channels. The important role of library staff, by which libraries can provide innovative library services to all its stakeholders in both offline and virtual modes, is explored.

Citation:
Gunjal, B. (2023). 12 The Role of Academic Libraries in a Pandemic Era. In M. Fombad, C. Chisita, O. Onyancha & M. Minishi-Majanja (Ed.), Information Services for a Sustainable Society: Current Developments in an Era of Information Disorder (pp. 181-194). Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Saur. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110772753-014

Resumen La disrupción en la universidad tradicional ha sido enfrentada mediante modelos académicos, iniciativas de gestión e incorporación de tecnologías, así como modalidades no presenciales. A pesar de la pandemia, hasta el momento no se cuenta con un modelo que regule los procesos académicos, administrativos y tecnológicos de programas no presenciales a nivel superior. El objetivo de este capítulo es exponer los resultados de un análisis de documentos emitidos por universidades mexicanas con modalidades no presenciales. El alcance este estudio consiste en identificar categorías referidas a la gestión de programas no presenciales, que abonen a la elaboración de un modelo para educación a distancia a nivel superior. La metodología implicó un análisis cualitativo de documentos oficiales emitidos por tres universidades públicas mexicanas con modalidades no presenciales, para identificar categorías comunes sobre gestión. Los resultados indican la construcción de dos categorías y cinco subcategorías relativas a la gestión académica y la operación de modalidades no presenciales. En las conclusiones se aprecia que las instituciones presentan programas, documentos, formatos, esfuerzos institucionales y categorías variadas, lo que confirma la pertinencia de un modelo que regule modalidades educativas a distancia a nivel superior. Palabras clave: Educación superior, Universidad virtual, Gestión en instituciones de educación superior, Gestión académica, operación de modalidades no presenciales.

The study attempts to investigate the customers’ perception towards bancassurance channel. Customers’ perception towards bancassurance is studied by considering six attributes, namely, compliance, tangible infrastructure, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. The study is based on primary data collected using structured questionnaire from the customers buying life insurance policy of SBI Life through different branches of State Bank of India in Guwahati City of Assam. Cronbach’s alpha is used to test the reliability of the questionnaire. Other statistical tools like Mean, Standard Deviation, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, and Friedman test were used to arrive at suitable conclusion. The study finds that customers have favourable perception regarding reliability, responsiveness, empathy, and assurance of bancassurance channel. Customers perceive that bank’s tangible infrastructure is adequate for providing insurance service and the bank has moderate compliance with insurance rela...

This comparative case study of teaching and learning experience explores connected learning design principles to improve engagement in higher education and weave sustainability practice into introductory environmental science curriculum through the integration of community, place, peer support, networking, and technology. For this study teaching and learning took place in multiple settings, online and in a brick-and-mortar classroom, and in students' communities. We set out to ask: In what ways might the implementation of connected learning principles be used to improve engagement and weave sustainability into environmental science curriculum, broaden interest in science literacy, and encourage community action in introductory higher education courses? Comparative analysis and collaborative autoethnography methodologies were utilized to compare professor experiences for analysis and synthesis of patterns. Findings suggest that connected learning curriculum can broaden access to science, improve engagement, and help weave sustainability into a variety of courses by presenting students with relevant applied opportunities, connections and critical thinking about place and community, peer support and intergenerational connections, networking, and technology. Students can also gain a sense of agency and career relevance especially important to students who might otherwise feel they cannot "do science" or make a difference in a changing world. Lastly, this approach can improve instructors' teaching experiences by relieving time and content constraints to incorporating sustainability into other course subjects as students submit more interesting passion-driven work, and are encouraged to network with and learn from individuals (family, community, and scientists) outside the classroom they may not have otherwise sought out.

This comparative case study of teaching and learning experience explores connected learning design principles to improve engagement in higher education and weave sustainability practice into introductory environmental science curriculum through the integration of community, place, peer support, networking, and technology. For this study teaching and learning took place in multiple settings, online and in a brick-and-mortar classroom, and in students' communities. We set out to ask: In what ways might the implementation of connected learning principles be used to improve engagement and weave sustainability into environmental science curriculum, broaden interest in science literacy, and encourage community action in introductory higher education courses? Comparative analysis and collaborative autoethnography methodologies were utilized to compare professor experiences for analysis and synthesis of patterns. Findings suggest that connected learning curriculum can broaden access to science, improve engagement, and help weave sustainability into a variety of courses by presenting students with relevant applied opportunities, connections and critical thinking about place and community, peer support and intergenerational connections, networking, and technology. Students can also gain a sense of agency and career relevance especially important to students who might otherwise feel they cannot "do science" or make a difference in a changing world. Lastly, this approach can improve instructors' teaching experiences by relieving time and content constraints to incorporating sustainability into other course subjects as students submit more interesting passion-driven work, and are encouraged to network with and learn from individuals (family, community, and scientists) outside the classroom they may not have otherwise sought out.

The HIS-Institute of Higher Education Development (HIS-HE) conducted a nationwide survey among Higher Education leaders about the extent to which the push for digitalization at German higher education institutions related to the COVID-19 pandemic has promoted strategic engagement with digitalization and how such experiences have been integrated into concepts for the future of teaching and learning.
The findings show that the effects of the pandemic are most evident in the digitalization of teaching formats, while many infrastructural and technical developments had already been initiated before the pandemic and were at most accelerated. When the COVID-19-related developments of digitalization are analyzed with regard to structural characteristics of the HEIs represented in the sample, it becomes apparent that there are no fundamental differences between universities and universities of applied sciences. Only the universities of arts and music are distinguished by the fact that the pandemic-related changes are generally smaller and fewer innovations are to be expected after the pandemic.
The range of disciplines of the HEIs also proves to be relevant when comparing HEIs with and without STEM subjects, as the former group shows a significantly greater dynamic of change. Last but not least, differences can also be found with regard to the existence of a digitalization strategy. Universities with a digitalization strategy not only have a head start in terms of experience, since they already offered online teaching or hybrid formats before the pandemic. Rather, they have changed their teaching and examination formats particularly extensively in the course of the pandemic and are planning to a greater extent to use instruments and formats for digital teaching in the future.

Parents inuence children's conduct, emotions, and personality. This study examined parental style and assertiveness in teens with and without learning difculties. The researcher drew 80 student demographics to do this. 40 with learning impairments and 40 without were chosen. T-test and correlation were used to examine the data. The study found a difference in assertiveness between learning disabled and nondisabled teens. The study found a moderate association between authoritative, authoritarian, permissive/indulgent, and negligent parenting and assertiveness. The study recommended that parents of teens be mindful of how parenting style affects their children's assertiveness.

Charles Eames, one of the founding fathers of NID, Ahmadabad, famously said, "Eventually everything connects." In the search for meaning and the hunger for-, (higher) education today needs to redefine, restructure and revive itself not only to accommodate itself with changing times but also to create sustainability in gen-next. The times, sang Bob Dylan, are a-changing', and are emerging as more complex, interconnected and enmeshed on the global scene. In such a context, this paper intends to do what most conferences and papers do-discuss an ideal world of what higher education ought to be, imagine an academic utopia. And from a personal perspective, this utopia is trans-disciplinary in nature, soliciting multiplicity and limitlessness in the face of singularity and circumferences. The theory of education in general and higher education in particular is researched not so much in terms of pedagogy but more in terms of enculturation and cognitive discernment. Specificall...

United NationsSustainable development goals (SDGs) aim to achieve socially equitable, financially successful and nature friendly world. Being the hub of knowledge creation and dissemination, academic institutes play a crucial role in promoting SDGs through research. Hence the present study analysed the productivity and impact of UN SDG research output of top ten NIRF-ranked universities. Bibliometric data of 51455 SDG publications produced by the top ten NIRF ranked universities for the period 2016-2024 was exported using the pre-defined SDG queries from the Scopus database. The study revealed a steady growth of institutional contribution on SDG research indicating the researchers' meticulous involvement in implementing SDG. Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) produced highest number of SDG publications (8559) while Banaras Hindu University (BHU) accrued highest citations (200240). The non open access publications( )outnumbered their open access (OA) counterparts (18668). On the contrary, citation analysis highlighted that open access SDG publications received higher citations than non-open access publications, emphasizing the role of OA publishing in enhancing research visibility and impact. All the ten universities preferred articles as the major channel for disseminating their scholarly outputs. We recommend that universities should encourage researchers to contribute more SDG publications through open access channels to achieve the goals within the stipulated time.

Severe heat events cause over 489,000 deaths each year worldwide, with forecasts suggesting a 2.3
4.5 times rise in heat-related illnesses by 2050 if climate change remains unmanaged. In Nigeria, more
than 75,000 hospitalizations in 2023 were due to heat stress, dehydration, and heart-related issues,
impacting vulnerable populations like the elderly, outdoor workers, and children. Existing heat
health alert systems are primarily focused on the population and generic, frequently missing
personalized and practical recommendations. To fill this gap, this research introduces a climate
aware machine learning (ML) framework that combines environmental factors (temperature: 28–45
°C, humidity: 20–85%, PM₂.₅: 15–110 µg/m³) with personal health data (heart rate variability at 1 Hz,
blood pressure every 15 minutes, oxygen saturation 92–99%, and daily activity levels) to assess heat
related illness risk on an individual basis. Utilizing a longitudinal dataset comprising 52,846 records
from 2,300 patients in southwestern Nigeria (2021–2024), we evaluated traditional classifiers (Logistic
Regression, Random Forest) in comparison to sophisticated sequence models (LSTM, Bi-LSTM,
Transformer). The Transformer model recorded the highest performance, attaining 92.7% accuracy,
0.88 precision, 0.91 recall, 0.89 F1-score, and a ROC–AUC of 0.94, surpassing LSTM (89.4% accuracy,
0.90 ROC–AUC) and Random Forest (84.1% accuracy, 0.82 ROC–AUC). Temporal analysis showed
that increasing input sequence lengths from 10 to 50 time steps enhanced prediction accuracy by 3.8
4.1% across models, highlighting the significance of long-term observation. Even with increased
training expenses (Transformer: 21.6 minutes compared to Logistic Regression: 1.4 minutes), the
inference latency stayed under 2.3 ms per sample, making it suitable for real-time use in mobile and
wearable applications. Simulation analyses additionally project that early interventions guided by
this framework might decrease hospital admissions by 28–32% and avert as many as 11,500 heat
related fatalities each year among high-risk populations in Nigeria. This research highlights the
capability of climate-aware, patient-focused ML models to enhance health by aligning with SDG 3
(Health) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

This paper explores how universities can contribute to global sustainable development by effectively implementing sustainability policies across their operations and activities. With their significant role in education, research, and community engagement, universities are uniquely positioned to lead efforts toward sustainable development goals (SDGs). This study outlines various sustainability policies that universities can adopt and emphasizes the importance of the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle in ensuring continuous improvement in sustainability practices. This paper concludes by stressing the need for universities to adopt a long-term, strategic approach to sustainability that encompasses environmental, social, and economic dimensions. By integrating sustainability into both their institutional operations and curricula, universities can become key agents in fostering sustainable development, not only within their communities but also on a global scale.

The study addresses a rather unexplored potential of permaculture, a holistic design system based on sustainable practices, to transform business and management education. It investigates academics' current levels of knowledge and understanding of permaculture concepts and their willingness to integrate its ethics and design principles into teaching practice. A descriptive survey was conducted among academics in five European countries. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA, correspondence analysis, and text mining techniques have revealed limited formal knowledge yet strong interest in the integration of permaculture, especially among trained individuals. To address this, a pedagogical intervention is proposed, in the form of a capacity-building programme that fosters permaculture-inspired teaching aligned with key sustainability competencies. This programme encourages critical systems thinking, anticipatory learning, and ethical leadership-essential skills for future managers navigating complex sustainability challenges. This study contributes to the broader agenda of responsible management education through the advancement of pedagogical approaches that embed sustainability values into management curricula.

Water security is a growing global challenge that requires effective and sustainable watershed management. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) provide innovative tools to support this process, but their applications still demand systematic assessment. This study reviews and synthesizes the literature on ICT-based solutions for water resource management, emphasizing their potential to enhance water security and promote sustainable practices. Methods: A combined bibliometric and qualitative analysis was performed on scientific articles published between 2020 and 2024, retrieved from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The bibliometric analysis identified key trends and emerging themes, while qualitative analysis examined specific ICT applications. Results: Findings reveal a prominent focus on remote sensing integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) for water quality monitoring, enabling early detection of potential problems and enhanced data analysis. IoT and Big Data are also highlighted as promising tools for real-time monitoring and decision support. However, the analysis identified persistent limitations in practical implementation of these technologies across diverse geographical contexts. Conclusions: The integration of ICTs into water resource management holds significant potential for advancing waterrelated Sustainable Development Goals. Future research should expand application to underrepresented regions, explore emerging technologies, and address challenges of data integration and validation to ensure reliability and scalability.

Authors: Luiz Henrique Alonso de Andrade, Duncan A. Thomas & Vito Laterza

There is growing criticism of Big Tech platforms across different sectors of society. There is also increasing scepticism towards seemingly wholesale digitalisation of higher education (HE), largely enabled by platform firms, that followed COVID-19-related emergency online teaching. However, there is a scarcity of critical studies of the multiple, interconnected ways in which HE is affected by the rise of educational technology (EdTech) platforms and their providers. The goal of this chapter is to provide an extensive thematic review of the emerging body of work that takes a critical perspective, and particularly of work that highlights political economy dimensions of ongoing HE platformisation. We identify nine key, interrelated themes in the literature that may also signal structural shifts in HE related to rising platforms and providers. We note two meta-themes, platformisation and learnification, and seven sub-themes: datafication, assetisation, modularisation, crowdification, and peer-to-peering (under the meta-theme platformisation); and unbundling, and skillisation & short-circuiting (under the meta-theme learnification). Finally, we discuss the implications of our review, and propose a critical approach to EdTech provision, considering both negative aspects of ongoing platformisation and the need to preserve the public mission of HE in different contexts.

This article explores the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in reshaping digital education through the concept of Meta-Intelligent Pedagogy (MIP), a holistic, adaptive, and contextsensitive learning paradigm. Drawing on complexity theory, cognitive science, and innovationology, the study proposes a framework for designing AI-enhanced learning ecologies that transcend conventional models of personalization and automation. The paper critically examines how AI systems can foster higher-order thinking, systemic intelligence, and ethical discernment while addressing the risks of dehumanization and epistemic injustice. By combining real-world case studies with speculative scenarios, the study explores not only how AI is currently reshaping education but also how it might enable radically new forms of pedagogy in the future. This dual approach ensures both empirical grounding and imaginative foresight, essential in a rapidly evolving post-digital educational landscape.

La sostenibilidad es actualmente una preocupación generalizada en la sociedad y en particular en el uso de laboratorios con fines educativos. Aunque los laboratorios son instalaciones inevitables para la educación, a menudo producen desechos como resultado de los experimentos de los estudiantes. Para contribuir a soluciones sostenibles en la educación, el uso de laboratorios remotos en lugar de los tradicionales laboratorios prácticos debe considerarse en todos los cursos de ingeniería. Es precisamente este aspecto el que se discute en el presente documento. Se hacen algunos comentarios sobre la importancia de la sostenibilidad en la educación. Posteriormente, se describe el uso de un laboratorio remoto llamado VISIR en un curso realizado en la Escuela Politécnica de Porto - Escuela de Ingeniería, para la conducción de un experimento electrónico llamado Schmitt Trigger.Sustainability is currently a general concern in society and in particular in the use of laboratories for education...

Libraries play a vital role in promoting sustainable development by linking their activities to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This article explores practical ways libraries can harness their power to contribute to SDGs, focusing on access to information, education, community engagement, cultural preservation, environmental sustainability, digital inclusion, and health promotion. It highlights the challenges libraries face, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, and suggests strategies like technology adoption, advocacy, and use of the SMART criteria to align library activities with SDGs. By actively collaborating with stakeholders, libraries can amplify their impact, strengthen inclusivity, and drive community transformation.

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to explore the rationale for teaching sustainability and engineering ethics within a decision‐making paradigm, and critically appraise ways of achieving related learning outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents the experience of the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney in teaching environmental sustainability and engineering ethics to third‐year undergraduate students. It discusses the objectives of the course and the merits and drawbacks of incorporating ethics and sustainability in the same teaching framework. In addition, it evaluates ways of incorporating theoretical and applied perspectives on sustainability.FindingsEthics and sustainability overlap but do not coincide; incorporating them in the same engineering course can be effective, provided that points of linkage are clearly recognized in the syllabus, a suitable combination of theory and practical applications is drawn upon and adequate teaching methods, inc...

Change is messy, no matter how much you plan for it." The purpose of the study was to document the theoretical framework and strategies used in the planning and implementation process of transformational change in two higher education institutions. Semi-structured interviews and document analysis were used in the qualitative multi-site case study. The focus on the "how" of change examines the impact of the strategies and process on the campus community. The central question guiding this study was what were effective and ineffective strategies used in the planning and implementation process? This study documented the process and the strategies used in the planning and implementation of transformational change, and the change leaders' perceptions of the efficacy of the strategies. This study examined whether the approaches used in the process to plan and implement transformational change included the strategies found in the Mobile Model for Transformational Change. This study revealed that the presence or absence of the core strategies found in the Mobile Model for Transformational Change (senior administrative support, flexible vision, staff development, visible action, and collaborative leadership) impacted the efficacy of the implementation process. Further, this study demonstrated the importance of conducting a post-implementation analysis of the planning and implementation process of transformational change initiatives.

Purpose This study aims to assess future teachers’ beliefs in their capabilities for sustainable gender equality (GE) practice after graduation and to analyze differences across degree and sex using a self-efficacy scale specifically designed and validated for this study. Design/methodology/approach A survey was administered to three cohorts of undergraduate and graduate student teachers at the University of Alicante, Spain. Using a convenience sample that represented the three teacher majors in early childhood, elementary and secondary education, 610 students were asked to rate their confidence in gender knowledge, skills and awareness using a six-point Likert scale. Findings Upon graduation, teachers reported unrealistic perceptions of their ability to practice a sustainable GE. The level of self-efficacy was found moderate in the three teacher cohorts with no statistically significant differences across degrees in any of the three efficacy components but gender attitudes were rat...

In the rapidly evolving landscape of higher education, the integration of AI in various assessment techniques presents before us a revolutionary potential for grading systems. This research study aimed to investigate the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in open-book examinations, with a focus on question paper preparation and evaluation processes. The research employed a Quantitative approach, including surveys and data analysis techniques. The sample size of 165 participants was taken as a sample in the study which includes students, educators and administrators from various academic institutions who have implemented open book examination systems. Participants were chosen on the basis of purposive sampling technique that have vast experience in AI

This Public Good / Public Harm Claim Evaluation Rubric was created for higher education to bring the rigor of scholarly inquiry to the claims we make about our field. By applying the same principles of verifiable fact-checking, logical soundness, and public impact assessment that guide academic research, institutions can ensure their statements are credible, defensible, and aligned with the public good. Faculty, administrators, trustees, and policymakers can use this tool to test the truthfulness and potential consequences of any claim-whether about student success, institutional performance, or policy outcomes. When consistently applied, this rubric filters out unfounded assertions, strengthens public trust, and supports decision-making grounded in truth, transparency, and the mission of higher education.

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes global education systems, African higher education institutions (HEIs) face pressure to adopt and govern AI ethically and effectively. This study investigates five questions: (1) What is the status of AI governance in African HEIs? (2) How ready are institutions to adopt AI policy? (3) What ethical and operational risks are emerging? (4) How do institutional and national AI strategies align? and (5) What future-proof governance framework can be proposed? Using a desk-based meta-synthesis, the study analyzes over 30 publicly available institutional, national, and regional documents. The analysis is guided by Resource Dependence Theory, Diffusion of Innovation, and Complexity Theory. No human subjects were involved, and international ethical standards were followed; PRISMA guidelines were deemed not applicable due to the qualitative scope. Findings reveal wide disparities in policy development and readiness. South Africa, Nigeria, and Rwanda are early adopters, aligning institutional policies with national digital strategies (RQ1 & RQ4). Most institutions remain in aspirational phases, limited by infrastructure and human capacity (RQ2). Where policies exist, they emphasize academic integrity and responsible use, though enforcement is uneven and impact largely unevaluated (RQ3). Cross-national alignment varies, with regional frameworks lacking strong enforcement mechanisms (RQ4). Evidence suggests that institutions with structured policies invest more in training and faculty engagement (RQ2 & RQ5). The study proposes a phased, ethically grounded governance framework tailored to Africa's educational context (RQ5). It contributes new insights into readiness differentials, governance diffusion, and policy convergence, offering a foundation for inclusive, futureoriented AI policy in African higher education.

The positive effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been widely recognized. Employee performance is a key driver of organizational growth. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of CSR on employee performance in the Mumbai region. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using SMART PLS was employed to analyze the data. The findings of this study indicate that there is a significant productive relationship between CSR on employee performance. Further studies can be conducted using mediating construct and building a higher order model.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to challenge the current educational methods taking place in Danish lower secondary school by introducing the concept of education for sustainable development (ESD) to help managers and teachers facilitate an action-oriented approach aimed at potentiating the level of sustainability and environmental awareness.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper is based on the relevant literature and examines the necessity to move beyond traditional education curricula by offering a new practical sustainable framework for facilitating ESD at Danish lower secondary schools. A particular focus relates to evaluating and adopting sustainable approaches in the educational literature that is sufficiently sensitive to practical changes in Danish lower secondary teaching methods.FindingsWith the purpose of generating awareness about climate change and students’ ecological footprint to lower secondary school students in Denmark, it was found that embedding ES...

She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1992 and has had a variety of academic appointments at Clarkson University ever since. Her research includes technical and environmental assessment of sustainability efforts and energy and climate education initiatives at middle, high school and collegiate levels. In the wide range of classes that Dr. Powers has taught at middle school to graduate levels, she focuses on teaching the process of engineering problem solving in a real-world environment. By focusing on complex and relevant environmental problems, the importance of societal impacts and communication can be stressed as well as providing a basis and relevance for technical material needed to address the engineering problem

This article covers the details of the Zero Mistake Program (ZMP) implemented for senior high school students at Stirling Schools in the regions of Iraq and Kurdistan while preparing for the ministry exams (wezary, baccalaureate). As a result of the findings, recommendations, and outcomes obtained during the preparation for these exams, which are a serious issue throughout the country, it has been shown that an easier path can be followed that can save both families and students from a great deal of trouble. Our work was supported by a methodology using both quantitative and qualitative data. The students' grades in mathematics at the end of the year, their mathematics mock exam grades at the end of the ZMP, and the official mathematics exam results they obtained from the ministry exam were compared. Our study was further supported by feedback from the students and their parents who participated in the ZMP. Our research was conducted among 12th-grade students at Erbil Nilufer Girls' High School. In summary, this article's details reveal the successful results achieved through the dedicated efforts of selfless teachers in the ZMP, which marks the culmination of various programs (Figure 2) spread over an academic year.

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes global education systems, African higher education institutions (HEIs) face pressure to adopt and govern AI ethically and effectively. This study investigates five questions: (1) What is the status of AI governance in African HEIs? (2) How ready are institutions to adopt AI policy? (3) What ethical and operational risks are emerging? (4) How do institutional and national AI strategies align? and (5) What future-proof governance framework can be proposed? Using a desk-based meta-synthesis, the study analyzes over 30 publicly available institutional, national, and regional documents. The analysis is guided by Resource Dependence Theory, Diffusion of Innovation, and Complexity Theory. No human subjects were involved, and international ethical standards were followed; PRISMA guidelines were deemed not applicable due to the qualitative scope. Findings reveal wide disparities in policy development and readiness. South Africa, Nigeria, and Rwanda are early adopters, aligning institutional policies with national digital strategies (RQ1 & RQ4). Most institutions remain in aspirational phases, limited by infrastructure and human capacity (RQ2). Where policies exist, they emphasize academic integrity and responsible use, though enforcement is uneven and impact largely unevaluated (RQ3). Cross-national alignment varies, with regional frameworks lacking strong enforcement mechanisms (RQ4). Evidence suggests that institutions with structured policies invest more in training and faculty engagement (RQ2 & RQ5). The study proposes a phased, ethically grounded governance framework tailored to Africa's educational context (RQ5). It contributes new insights into readiness differentials, governance diffusion, and policy convergence, offering a foundation for inclusive, future-oriented AI policy in African higher education.

This report provides a comprehensive academic analysis of the Somaliland Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) 2022-2026, critically examining its financial, governance, human resource, data management, and environmental vulnerabilities. Despite ambitious goals to transform the national education system, the ESSP faces significant implementation risks stemming from chronic underfunding, centralized budget control, weak accountability mechanisms, severe teacher shortages, underdeveloped data systems, and external climate and economic shocks. The analysis highlights a projected funding shortfall, particularly under conservative fiscal scenarios, and deep-rooted issues of financial mismanagement and corruption. Drawing on theoretical frameworks such as Human Capital Theory, Resource Dependency Theory, Resilience Frameworks, and Institutional Theory, this report offers an evidence-based critique and proposes targeted recommendations to enhance the resilience, accountability, and effectiveness of Somaliland's education sector in its fragile post-conflict environment. Methodology: The analysis employs a rigorous mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative data from MoES budget books, education census data, and performance audits with qualitative insights from over 400 stakeholder consultations. Theoretical frameworks including Human Capital Theory, Resource Dependency Theory, Resilience Frameworks, and Institutional Theory provide a multi-dimensional lens for critique. Statistical tools such as linear regression, stochastic modeling, and Monte Carlo simulations were utilized to project funding trajectories and assess economic vulnerabilities.

Understood as "a means by which society decides collectively what urban [and rural] change should be like and tries to achieve that vision by a mix of means.", there is broad consensus that planning should fully incorporate the notion of sustainable development. Planners have a critical role in envisioning and driving local transitions to sustainable development. This requires transforming what planners learn and how they learn in higher education. This study is the first to identify a set of planning competencies for sustainable development. It proposes in three areas planning competencies for sustainable development, including (a) knowledge to understand human settlements, (b) skills to plan sustainable settlements, and (c) values to stand for sustainable communities. Following a conceptual analysis of transformative pedagogy as a superior theoretical approach to teaching for sustainable development, this study is also the first to identify types of transformative learning activities, including (1) unlearning-relearning activities, (2) learning through new experiences, and (3) ill-structured problem solving. The study therefore makes original contributions to both planning and education literature, in addition to its interdisciplinary methodological contribution through an original design of 'framing and * Corresponding author.

Philosophical ecology has long been a discourse for exploring the foundations of conceptual, strategic, and practical approaches to ecological issues. Since the rise of the modern ecological crisis, the field has been rapidly evolving to incorporate many emerging ideas.

PurposeThis special issue reveals how lesson study in China continues to serve as a powerful platform to support change in teaching. The papers included in this issue explore how university faculty members and researchers support teachers to cross boundaries resulting from the introduction of key competencies-based (hexin suyang 核心素养) curriculum reform (KCR).Design/methodology/approachThe theme of continuity and change is examined against the backdrop of Chinese lesson study's (CLS's) consistent supporting role in enabling curriculum reform. These analyses make use of concepts involved in understanding boundary crossing, such as using boundary objects and their roles, to help make sense of the new theories, tools, and resources as well as relationships engendered in responding to the reform's demand. While recognizing the continuity at play in Chinese LS, the authors use the lens of learning at the boundary of research-practice partnerships (RPPs) (Farrell et al., 2022) ...

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Economic development in almost all countries causes harmful effects that future generations will feel. The solution to this issue is the application of sustainability in all aspects of life, including at universities. Students as future generations are stakeholders interested in implementing sustainable universities. This study aims to see the readiness of students to support the implementation of sustainable universities in Indonesia. The research method used is pre, and post-experiment using video media about climate change's negative impacts and causes. Data analysis of selected respondents purposively was carried out using content and descriptive analysis. The result is that students are quite ready to support the implementation of a sustainable university; even students provide several strategies to make the performance of a sustainable university successful.

The onset of COVID-19 profoundly disrupted Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) globally, including in South Africa, compelling a rapid shift to online teaching and learning. This unforeseen transition exposed significant gaps in digital literacy and technological preparedness among educators and students, challenging traditional methods of instruction. The pandemic underscored the urgent need for HEIs to reimagine their curriculums more responsive to a technology-driven world. This reflective inquiry, grounded in narrative research, draws from the authors' experiences as students to explore critical issues in curriculum development. Through storytelling and reflective dialogue, the authors highlight the limitations of existing curriculums and the need for transformative changes. The study argues that HEIs must adopt blended and hybrid learning models, integrate 21st-century skills into curricula,

A educação ambiental e a sustentabilidade têm implicações no domínio económico, cultural, ético, inclusão social e espiritual dos povos. Os compromissos dos organismos internacionais como a Organização das Nações Unidas para a Educação a Ciência e a Cultura (UNESCO, por suas siglas em inglês) e outras ONGs como Fundo Mundial para Natureza (WWF, por suas siglas em inglês) permitiram a realização de uma série de conferências e declarações apelando o engajamento mundial. Apesar de tais intenções e compromissos, o estado do planeta vai de mal para o pior. Por isso a Agenda 2030 insistiu na necessidade de implementação de iniciativas e participação de todos na promoção da educação ambiental e do desenvolvimento sustentável. É com base nesta perspectiva que o Instituto Superior de Ciências da Educação no Lubango abriu o Mestrado em Ensino das Ciências, tendo como um dos módulos Problemas sociais das ciências, tecnologia e ambiente. O objectivo do módulo é o de treinar os estudantes na par...

This paper presents a comprehensive framework for the assessment and evaluation of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) designed to enhance academic quality, institutional accountability, and continuous improvement. The framework articulates clear objectives, core dimensions of assessment, and detailed evaluation criteria supported by diverse methodologies including selfassessment, peer review, and data analytics. A systematic scoring and rating system translates complex performance data into actionable insights, facilitating benchmarking and informed decision-making. Implementation strategies emphasize stakeholder engagement, capacity building, and ethical governance. Comparative case studies of global quality assurance models inform adaptable and context-sensitive approaches. The framework also identifies challenges such as institutional diversity, data limitations, and resource constraints, offering strategic recommendations for future development. Embracing digital transformation, inclusivity, sustainability, and international collaboration, this framework aims to drive resilient and responsive higher education systems aligned with evolving global demands.

Passive solar and energy efficiency concepts are usually taught through lectures, textbooks, or hands-on experimentation, but the relationship between these concepts istypically not effectively visualized. To address this, this paper reports on the design, development and preliminary testing of a prototype Augmented Reality (AR) application for residential energy use education. This tablet-based AR application simulates the impact of different residential building design characteristics on both indoor temperature (for passiveheating/cooling) and annual energy use and cost (for mechanical HVAC). The application was developed by an interdisciplinary team of researchers/educators from three related fields: architecture, interdisciplinary education, and computer science. AR consists of additional information that is visible through a technology interface, shown on top of the images of the real world under study within a digital 3D space. The interdisciplinary model presented in this pap...

Purpose – The article aims to describe the problem- and project-based learning (PPBL) program and the institutional context at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability (SOS), with the goal of offering experience-based guidance for similar initiatives in sustainability programs around the world. Design/methodology/approach – This case study presents the diverse PPBL activities that SOS offers on the undergraduate and the graduate levels and examines the institutional structures in place that support these activities. Data were collected through literature and document reviews, observations, interviews, student evaluations and faculty surveys. Findings – The review of the PPBL program at SOS illustrates a case of successfully inaugurating a PPBL program in sustainability at a major university in the USA. Yet, a key challenge for this program and similar programs around the world is how to maintain the institutional momentum and make advances after the initial takeoff. SOS i...

Since the end of the 20th century, as a result of the struggles of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples in Latin America, different types of universities have been created that are often generically referred to as “intercultural universities”. However, experiences in this field are very heterogeneous and a distinction must be made between at least three main types of institutions. One corresponds to initiatives established “by” indigenous and/or Afro-descendant organisations and/or intellectuals. Another refers to universities and other institutions of Higher Education created through alliances between indigenous and Afro-descendant groups with “conventional” universities and/or different types of social organisations. A third type corresponds to universities created “for” members of indigenous communities and founded by state agencies. The present chapter offers an overview of this diversity of institutional arrangements; it pays special attention to the modes of learning developed within them and to the way they relate to the communities and organisations of the indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples and to their knowledge and proposals. Furthermore, it briefly examines the main axes of tension and conflict that arise in the relations between these institutions and the corresponding states.

This study determined computer aided instruc1ion (CAI) skill needs of lecturers for teaching Business Education courses in Colleges of Education in Enugu State. The study adopted survey research design and was conducted in Enugu State. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The population for the study was 91 Business Education lecturers in Colleges of Education in Enugu State. A validated and structured questionnaire containing 31 items was used to elicit responses from the respondents. Cronbach Alpha reliability method was used to determine the internal consistency of the instrument which yielded reliability coefficients of 0.78, 0.64 for perceived importance and 0.78, 0.89 for skills possession for the clusters. Data analysis was done using mean and need assessment index for research questions while ANOVA statistic was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that Business Education lecturers in colleges of education need skill improvements in video conferencing such as: Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams; and PowerPoint. The findings of this study among others have implications on National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), as it would enable them make adequate provisions for computer aided instruction (CAI) facilities in Colleges of Education. This study concluded that if CAI facilities are made available, it will help the lecturers to teach business education courses efficiently. It was recommended among others that lecturers should embrace and use modern technologies such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and PowerPoint in teaching business education courses in colleges of education.