Sustainable universities: fostering learning beyond environmental management systems
by Pedro Conceicao, John Ehrenfeld, Manuel Heitor, Pedro S. Vieira
International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management (IJTPM), Vol. 6, No. 4, 2006

Abstract: This paper builds on previous research on the contemporary role of the university, which was based on the conceptual approach that the accumulation of knowledge is the fundamental driving force behind economic growth. We argue that the university must respond to changes in the world that challenge its well-established pedagogical and epistemological traditions or face loss of institutional respect. Concerns over the rapid pace of exogenous socioeconomic change and the increasingly unsustainable state of the world, raise questions about the efficacy of the positivist, discipline-based model for learning, research, and teaching, and charge universities with the important task of diffusing the concept of sustainability. An alternate model of reflexive learning in practice (living) is introduced as a potential model for the building of the 'sustainable' university. The analysis shows that interdisciplinary research and curricula are critical, and integrative concepts, such as industrial ecology, can guide the design of new institutional structures.

Online publication date: Tue, 19-Dec-2006

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