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Sustainable Development in Higher Education—What Sustainability Skills Do Industry Need?

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  • Göran Finnveden

    (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden)

  • André Schneider

    (EPFL (École Polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
    Current address: Geneva Airport, 1215 Geneva, Switzerland.)

Abstract

Higher education must provide students with tools for a broad and holistic understanding of the complex situations they will meet in their careers after they graduate. This also includes issues related to sustainable development. Few studies have however been conducted where industry representatives specify what sustainability skills they require. The aim of the present study is to achieve a better understanding of the needs of industry related to a student’s sustainability skills and knowledge. Industry opinions on sustainability skills were gathered in two ways: interviews were conducted with executives in different positions at companies and a workshop with sustainability directors from different sectors was organized. Companies expressed primarily two needs regarding sustainability skills: (1) sustainability professionals/specialists are needed and, (2) there is an equal need for all managers and leaders to have a general and basic competence regarding sustainable development within a number of different areas. While sustainability specialists are well represented in industry, the latter skills are rarer. Higher education institutions must therefore make sure that sustainable development is integrated into all educational programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Göran Finnveden & André Schneider, 2023. "Sustainable Development in Higher Education—What Sustainability Skills Do Industry Need?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-7, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:5:p:4044-:d:1077594
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Xintong Zhou & Fengrong Zhang & Lijie Shan & Ciyun Lin, 2023. "Research on the Current Situation and Problems of Ecological Civilization Education for Contemporary College Students—An Empirical Analysis Based on Structural Equation Modeling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Vassilios Makrakis & Michele Biasutti & Nelly Kostoulas-Makrakis & Munirah Ghazali & Widad Othman & Mohammad Ali & Nanung Agus Fitriyanto & Katerina Mavrantonaki, 2024. "ICT-Enabled Education for Sustainability Justice in South East Asian Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-16, May.
    3. Axel Sikora & Tanya Titova-Kosturkova & Gordana Janevska & Mitko Kostov & Simona Halunga & George Suciu & Georgi Georgiev, 2023. "EREMI: An Innovative Interdisciplinary Approach for Higher Education in Resource Efficient Manufacturing Environments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-22, June.

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