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This case study explores different perspectives on integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in universities to achieve university transformations. This study recognises that university actors think differently about the purpose of universities, hold diverse perspectives on the SDGs, and, thus, prefer specific types of SDG integration.

Using Q methodology, 29 participants from one university expressed their perspectives by sorting 50 statements covering different types of SDG integration. Statements were based on academic and grey literature on SDG integration in universities, and interviews with university actors from a previous study. After the sorting task, participants were interviewed to understand the reasons behind the placement of particular statements.

The study identifies three perspectives held by the study participants. Perspective 1 emphasises the value of the SDGs and supports a deep integration of the Goals in their university. Perspective 1 also advocates for incorporating the SDGs into the university’s identity. Perspective 2 sees the university’s purpose as more comprehensive than the SDGs; thus, the university should develop knowledge regardless of its relevance to the SDGs. This perspective supports a pragmatic integration of the SDGs – favouring actions that benefit the university without introducing significant changes. Finally, Perspective 3 argues that the university should approach the SDGs through social justice and empowerment lenses. This perspective also questions the suitability of the SDGs for universities, arguing that the SDGs fail to challenge current structures underpinning the unsustainability of the world.

Although previous studies have analysed diverse ways of understanding the SDGs in universities, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to treat the SDGs as a governance framework of 17 goals and adopt a whole-institution approach to study universities.

This study aims at exploring the role of higher education service quality in affecting students' psychological well-being through the lens of the sustainable development goals. This purpose is achieved through investigating the effects of functional and technical service quality dimensions on six psychological well-being dimensions, namely, environmental mastery, autonomy, self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, personal growth and purpose in life.

Using a survey, data were collected from 453 Egyptian students. The hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling via SmartPLS 4. The study's limitations are the inability to use probability sampling techniques and length of the survey that led to low response rates.

The results show that functional service quality is positively associated with students' autonomy, positive relationships with others and self-acceptance, while functional service was found insignificant in affecting environmental mastery or self-acceptance. Further, positive results are found in the relationship between technical service quality and students' environmental mastery and self-acceptance. On the other hand, a negative relationship is detected between technical service quality and students' personal growth. Lastly, technical service quality is found to be insignificant in affecting students' autonomy or personal relationships with others.

This study responds to calls for more studies investigating how service quality can shape and affect customer well-being. Furthermore, this is the first study to investigate the different roles played by functional and technical service quality in affecting six psychological well-being dimensions of higher education students. Drawing on a sample of 453 Egyptian students, this study provides a novel contribution about the Egyptian higher education context, which is both understudied in the service literature and the well-being literature.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly aware of their role in developing and implementing a sustainable paradigm, with the potential to accelerate progress toward sustainable development (SD). Therefore, this study aims to investigate the environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainable development goals (SDGs) practices of the University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNISUL) and, based on this analysis, indicate how HEIs in general can contribute to the promotion of these concepts.

The study was based on the authors' experiences and participant observations made during the establishment of sustainability practices at UNISUL. Additional data collected from documentary research and literature review were analyzed qualitatively.

The results show that sustainability is present in UNISUL’s educational and management processes as actions related to all SDGs and, thus, to all ESG dimensions. On the other hand, it was noted that many actions identified in the literature are not present, with governance being the dimension with fewer practices, thus indicating possibilities for improvement. In this way, new practices were suggested.

New actions linked to SDGs and ESG at UNISUL were identified that can be adopted by other HEIs.

This study explores the opportunities for a gender-inclusive architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, focussing on the gap between architectural education and practice. This study focusses on three research questions: (1) What factors influence women architects' career retention and advancement in the AEC industry? How can practice outcomes be linked with educational approaches for gender inclusion in the AEC industry? (3) What critical factors can enable structural changes in architecture education, including AEC-related subjects and practice/career pathways towards gender equity?

This paper is based on a systematic literature review (SLR). The established timeframe for selecting papers in this study considered the last 20 years, as various seminal studies in feminism and gender inclusion in architecture emerged in the early 2000s through the definition of keywords used in two prestigious databases. The academic articles selected were filtered through a process of inclusion and exclusion, following criteria for suitability and relevance using a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) diagram.

This study revealed key trends in the literature review consistent with the research questions, including (1) the disproportionate struggles women face at individual, interpersonal and organisational levels and the gender-based bias from entry and progression in the AEC industry that also requires multi-level interventions; (2) traditional architecture education affects female students and educators who find networking, social capital and leadership opportunities to challenge gender-based stereotypes and promote workplace equity, and finally, (3) observe enablers for fostering equity in architecture and education, which should not be limited to policy-driven interventions but structural transformations through transparency, mentorship, leadership, awareness raising and empowerment of women and men, promoting inclusivity and gender equity in the AEC industry.

This study considers a global understanding of gender equity in the AEC industry, regional and country-specific analysis needs to be considered in future studies. The study's focus is on women’s inclusion, acknowledging the limitations of conventional binary gender concepts; future studies need to include the experiences of LGBTI + communities and other underrepresented groups. The literature review considers only academic articles; future research should also consider industry reports, government initiatives and organisational documents for a broader understanding of diversity efforts in business.

This paper observes the issues for gender-inclusive architecture within the context of a male-dominant AEC industry through linking architectural education and practice. Studies rarely focus on this link and address workplace issues. This study highlights this link and extends the discussion through the critical literature review, providing a new ground for geographic-specific or intersectional studies.

Recent scholarship has explored higher education institutions’ (HEIs) role in transitioning to a sustainable society, but empirically, questions remain regarding their impact on the sustainability of surrounding areas. This study aims to examine the correlation between HEIs’ sustainability actions and local sustainability performance.

This study uses a linear regression model and principal component analysis to examine the sustainability performance of 105 US metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) using the US cities sustainable development goal (SDG) index, which hosts 427 HEIs known for sustainability efforts. The weighted HEI sustainability performance score is calculated based on the QS sustainability universities ranking.

The correlation between MSA and HEI sustainability performance exhibits a mix of positive and negative associations, with individual and interlinked SDGs serving as proxies. These correlations encompass a wide range of goals, from economic aspects of SDG 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, social aspects of SDG10 and 16, to socio-environmental aspects of SDG12.

Further exploration is needed to identify the causal mechanisms behind associations between SDG measures and HEI sustainability performance, whether influenced by the institution, the individual or both.

This study suggests that HEIs are already associated with some aspects of community sustainability, but greater contributions to a broader array of sustainability measures are possible.

The correlation found between HEI sustainability actions and SDG10, 12 and 16 index performance in an MSA highlights a connection between HEIs and the attainment of societal goals.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the correlation between HEI and MSA sustainability performance in the US through individual and interlinked SDG proxies. It provides novel empirical evidence that demonstrates an association between HEI and some aspects of community sustainability performance.