Challenges to the Sustainability of the Traditional University

The Place of the Entrepreneurial Institution

Abstract

In this academic essay, the UNESCO definition of sustainability is used as the point of departure for the discussion on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the education of the next generation of leaders for sustainability and the place of the entrepreneurial university in the contemporary higher education landscape. It is acknowledged that the role of the institution of higher education is that of educating the next generation and embracing sustainability would enlarge the overall mission of the institution.

Drawing from the literature on sustainability and the entrepreneurial university, it is argued that in order to deal with this subject meaningfully, it should be embedded in the curriculum. This would enable work to be undertaken to develop a sustainability mindset through curricular practices, and understanding the university as an engaged academy on the vanguard of transformational leadership, a culture of sustainability should be a major objective of curricular practices. Once this culture of sustainability pervades institutions of higher learning it would definitely result in an engaged academy since sustainability includes a preferential option for social justice.

The status of institutions of higher education, beset with financial problems is also underscored and this is exacerbated by neo-liberal philosophy in some countries. This is problematic, issuing major challenges to the continuance of the university in its traditional form. This is particularly problematic in light of the social contract which many universities embrace. Contemporary realities of especially insufficient financing of public universities could undermine the status of universities as institutions committed to the public good. Nevertheless, the recognition that universities might opt to engage in entrepreneurial activities and earn some revenue for themselves is good since this might cause traditional universities to reinvent themselves even as they maintain major aspects of their traditional mission.