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The purpose of this paper is to expand the competence-led structuring and understanding of sustainability education by analysing the practices of professional individuals who have completed university education geared to the development of sustainability change-makers.

The research scope was initially on examining professional practices following the boundary work theory. Social practice theory was used as a methodological approach in conducting and analysing thematic interviews with 19 sustainability-focused master’s programme alumni. The interviews were analysed against the theoretical framework while also noting findings that fell outside of this framework.

A framework for understanding materials, competences and meanings of practices connected to the professional field of sustainability was introduced. The framework suggests that in the practices of sustainability-educated professionals, meanings emerge as a top priority and are conveyed using position-based materials and various complexes of competency.

The authors suggest that boundary theory informs well the emergence of the professional field of sustainability, and the utilisation of a practice theory furthers the understanding of sustainability professionalism and its education.

The authors’ suggest that practice theory could thus provide deeper insights on how sustainability science alumni use their education after graduation, how they practice their profession and in return offer applicable reflections to sustainability education.

Research using practice theory in reflection on sustainability education and the professional practice of sustainability has not been widely conducted and in the authors’ opinion brings value to the education and practice of sustainability and to the research of sustainability education.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the roles that social capital and real-world learning may play in enhancing the effects of university education for sustainable development (ESD) on social sustainability.

A conceptual framework that identifies the plausible effects of university ESD on social sustainability along three outcome dimensions (think-act-leverage), broadening desirable program learning outcomes and proposing enabling roles for social capital and real-world learning, is substantiated and validated through qualitative insights from a focus group. The framework serves to structure a survey to alumni of a postgraduate program in sustainability (2011–2018). Hierarchical clustering analysis is used to identify differences in perceived, sustainability-related effects of the program on direct beneficiaries and their relationship with stakeholders in their communities.

Implementation of real-world learning in partnership with organizations in the community that actively involves alumni not only extends desirable effects beyond individual program learning outcomes and outside the academia but may also renew them over time.

University administrators should foster the creation of new social capital of students and alumni and their commitment with service learning and other credit-bearing opportunities as actionable enablers to enhance the social sustainability effects of university ESD.

The paper contributes to a dual theoretical and empirical void related to the effects of university ESD on the social dimension of sustainability through the proposal of a conceptual framework and quantitative assessment of the dynamic effects of university ESD at the local level.

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 4.b calls to “substantially expand globally the number of scholarships” for enrollment in overseas higher education between 2015 and 2020. To advance knowledge on international scholarships and sustainability, this chapter examines notions of sustainability in literature related to international scholarships for students in the Global South. Based on an exploratory review of literature, ways that sponsored international student mobility – programs, students, graduates, and networks – maintain and sustain systems and outcomes are explored. Findings are presented through four frames: (a) programmatic sustainability, (b) organizational development, (c) national sustainable development, and (d) international and global actions. Challenges to sustainability, such as poor coordination between degrees earned and local market conditions, are also discussed. In addition, the findings point to several prominent ways that scholarships could contribute to sustainability that are mostly absent from the literature: transformative education for sustainable development, and international education for environmental sustainability. The chapter closes with a vision of alumni networks – both within and among programs – to work together to transform societies and tackle the most pernicious international challenges of our time.

This practitioner paper intends to explore how Public Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) in Pakistan could strategize alumni to encounter the financial sustainability challenges and achieve their organizational potential relevant to academic, research and public services.

Employing a hermeneutic (interpretive) phenomenological approach, this study used interviews and focus group discussion data with 26 alumni from eight different PHEIs in Pakistan to explore their attitudes toward engagement with their institutions.

This study shows a clear shift in institutional strategies between the developing and developed economies regarding the importance and value given to alumni and engagement practices employed.

This study recommends that PHEIs in Pakistan can enjoy alumni engagement benefits to strengthen their organizational standing, provided they view alumni as a valuable entity and observe a proactive approach to engage alumni in a manner that may reflect the mutually beneficial and trustworthy relationship. Further, it would help institutions attain long-term financial sustainability, which is threatened by state-funding cuts and, more recently, COVID-19 pandemic-led recession.

Scholarship shows that institutions in the developed economies have built a strong bond with their alumni to seek their support. However, the voices of institutions from the developing economies have not been heard yet. In this regard, this study appears to highlight the current alumni engagement practices and how institutions could improve on them to strategize alumni for a sustainable future.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a higher education funding and employment system that obviates barriers to sustainable development and helps engrain the notion of sustainability into the institutional framework.

The “Higher Education Sustainability First System” (HESFS) is a conceptual model that builds upon ideas from previous literature. Its theoretical basis draws on a joint value creation framework from the stakeholder theory and business model perspectives.

A holistic three-pillar approach that offers multiple value propositions is needed to engage the stakeholders to collaborate for the coherent functioning of the HESFS. This will enable the establishment of a viable innovative financial model and the institution of a sustainability-focused student employment program that are facilitated by a robust sustainable infrastructure. Several sustainable development goals may be furthered in the process.

The applicability of a part or entire HESFS depends on the characteristics of the higher education institution and the level of its maturity in a sustainable development process. Although its different constituents have been empirically validated in literature, the HESFS model could be applied in a case study to determine its potential feasibility.

The HESFS may inspire policymakers, businesses and higher education institutions to forge alliances to devise innovative resources of funding and engage in employment partnerships that can lead to progress in sustainable development. It may particularly be useful for institutions in developing and less developed countries, where inequality and high youth unemployment rates prevail.

By focusing on an under-researched topic through a multitheoretical perspective, this study contributes to theories pertaining to stakeholder engagement and business models.

Those who work to develop and manage community-based leadership programs have long been concerned with how to sustain them – to keep them healthy and useful. But focusing on how to sustain programs requires exploring what sustainability means. This paper reports on interviews with 41 community-based leadership education program coordinators. In contrast to their definitions of success, which emphasize impacting individuals and communities, interviewees defined program sustainability more as having enough participants, adequate funding, continuity, community support, and alumni involvement in program management. The paper explores the nuances of these definitions, including internal aspects of sustainability over which program managers had significant control, and external conditions over which they had less control. The paper also explores differences in perspectives between coordinators of programs sponsored by Chambers of Commerce and those sponsored by Cooperative Extension and universities or nonprofits.

This paper aims to understand why higher education institutions (HEIs) struggle to become sustainable institutions themselves despite providing relevant teaching and research on sustainability.

Using 17 open-ended, semistructured interviews to determine common themes (codes) regarding sustainability, the authors mapped those codes to the adaptive cycle from social innovation theory.

Using the adaptive cycle offered a framework for understanding sustainability at HEIs as a cyclical process where innovation occurs in ebbs and flows. Differing perceptions of power by students and faculty slow down the process, and cross-collaboration is the key to further sustainability.

Insights from the adaptive cycle can contribute to HEI assessment of its sustainability initiatives by identifying the stage of the adaptive cycle relevant to the institution’s present sustainability work.

Applying the adaptive cycle is an original way of understanding the process of anchoring sustainability at HEIs providing concrete insights into advancing this process.

This chapter will discuss the case of Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM), Odisha, one of India’s leading skills universities that provides a hands-on, practice-oriented, experience-based, interactive, and learning-centered educational environment. This chapter will further argue that by designing a skill integrated interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary curriculum, CUTM has built employable and entrepreneurial-minded manpower in order to contribute meaningfully towards a sustainable future. The various courses address Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) either directly or indirectly through a broad range of disciplines spanning from agriculture to industrial automation to governance. This chapter also highlights five social entrepreneurial initiatives under the brand name of ‘Gram Tarang’. Centurion University has established strong collaborations with industry, national and state governments, non-governmental organizations, and the local community for sustainable development, in line with SDG 17. The impact of Higher Education Institutions through their outreach activities, social entrepreneurship, and their attempts at enhancing critical thinking, creativity, and ethical values among students is also discussed. In the Indian context, these are crucial parameters that define sustainability (Agrawal & Kumar, 2018).

This study aims to assess the current knowledge and awareness of environmental and sustainable development of Nigerian students by investigating the influence of their sociodemographics.

This study adapts the concept of using an assessment model in a bespoke application of Sulitest® and Assessment of Student Knowledge. A total of 650 undergraduate students (in the environment, engineering and agriculture programs) were administered a paper-based questionnaire from June to July 2019.

This study determined that Nigerian students performed poorly on the sustainability literacy test (SLT). Furthermore, students majoring in agriculture exhibited higher knowledge in the social and overall topics, followed by students majoring in the environmental field. From the study findings, the authors recommend that periodic assessment using SLT measures will help higher education institutions (HEIs) identify targeted sustainability programs for the development of students and educators. Hence, HEIs in Nigeria and elsewhere should use sustainability assessment tools to promote pro-environmental awareness.

The SLT is one of several options to assess sustainability knowledge in HEIs. Several HEIs across the USA and Europe have been known to adopt some SLT assessment techniques to improve environmental literacy among students. However, environmental literacy has global implications; hence, this study contributes to the limited body of literature investigating the level of environmental awareness or literacy among university students from a developing country, focusing on the three main study programs (agriculture, environment and engineering).

This paper aims to investigate the roles of leadership in enabling sustainability transformation of universities and higher sustainability management education. It advocates research into the role of leadership for a university’s sustainability transformation by exploring interactions between university members and institutional contexts.

Using a case study approach, this study explores the sustainability transformation of a university and its influence on the MBA Sustainability Management by applying Mintzberg’s leadership framework.

The findings suggest that leaders can strongly influence a process of change in mindsets, practices and curricula to incorporate sustainability into higher business education institutions. Whereas bottom-up leadership initiatives are crucial, leadership support from top management is seen as important to enable larger, more radical steps of transformation.

It is worthy noting that in the medium run strategic leadership to develop good sustainability management education programs requires a consistent institutional commitment for sustainability.