The university partners in the SDG-iLevel project conducted interviews with administrative and management staff at their universities to gain a deeper understanding of how they perceive and evaluate their contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In a previous article we already highlighted some conclusions from these interviews. This time, we take a closer look at what colleagues at Kaunas University of Technology had to say on the topic.
SDGs as guidelines for professional and personal life
All interviewees emphasized the importance of sustainability at all levels and they highlighted the positive role of the SDGs as a point of orientation. One person stated: "The Sustainable Development Goals are like guidelines that you can always look at and check if you are doing the right thing in your activities and even in your personal life." The same person pointed out that, despite their holistic approach, the SDGs might not cover all aspects of sustainability and human life: "What I would have liked to see in the SDGs is a distinction, a focus on the human being, on his or her psychological state. Well-being at work, social aspects, I think that is also very important to sustainability. We do not have a separate objective for human well-being in the SDGs."
Institutional strategy and commitment
The strategic plan of Kaunas University of Technology emphasizes sustainable development, reflecting its commitment to environmental responsibility and long-term viability. At the same time, more commitment is asked for: "The way I see it is that the Institution accepts the paradigm of sustainable development, allows it to evolve and then allows individual responsibility to unfold, and all the decisions we have come from that. (...) The terms sustainable development are there in our visions, in our strategies, in these key documents. I do not see that this is the number one priority for the university, and this then leads to such fragmented efforts and decisions being taken."
"Wow!" moments
Interdisciplinarity and overcoming (institutional) barriers is seen as a key to address the SDGs: "Maybe it's the encouragement of collaboration between people from different disciplines and then maybe your eyes are opened and you see things that you didn't see at the beginning. I experience and see a lot of value in working with people from other disciplines because they have the opportunity to share their experiences, their insights, and then I sometimes have that "Wow!" moment too. In science, we need to encourage even more interdisciplinarity and choose the SDGs that we want to do research on."
How can such interdisciplinary activities be fostered? One interviewee mentioned informal gatherings: "If I could think about what measures are needed at institutional level to make more of this happen, I would say that it is very important to create moments and spaces, opportunities for people in the university to meet and just be together and have space to talk about their research. Then there is this natural kind of meeting and grouping that gives rise to research and other decisions. I wouldn't say that you need a sustainability manager or something like that in the university to go out there and find and bring everybody together, but more informal occasions that give rise to natural initiatives."
Implementation at institutional level
Institutional alignment with the SDGs, from strategic planning to tactical implementation, requires addressing time constraints and bureaucratic obstacles to ensure effective execution: "What goes into strategic documents becomes a prerequisite for implementation, if the Institution is aligned and it appears in strategic planning, then it appears in tactical plans, then it gets down to the lecturer for sure. (...) There has to be a basis for why the other has to do it, otherwise the verbal agreement will not be the basis for us to have an impact."
Time is a challenging factor: "The main challenge, it seems to me, is time. Because especially for those community initiatives we have very full agendas in terms of studies, expert, scientific, administrative issues. We have great initiatives and wishes, but in my timetable there is no more space and this is not the case for me alone, it's the case for everybody around me and it seems to me that the overload of academic staff is the main obstacle to take more responsibility or to continue to look for an impact on the communities"
Administrative support
One colleague emphasizes that administrative assistance is essential to facilitate researchers' engagement with communities and organizations, enhancing collaboration and communication efforts: "(...) considering whether it should be a separate position for a person who helps researchers to find pathways into communities, into businesses, into organizations, so that there is more collaboration and more impact in science. (...) Teachers and researchers are willing to get involved, but they need help, for example, in science communication activities, or in helping to organize events, or in attracting citizens, because there is citizen science research going on. On the administrative side, we are asking the dean's office to find the administrative resources to help researchers in such activities."
Reflect on teaching
At the individual level, educators should critically assess their teaching materials to ensure they align with sustainable development principles and instill value-based skills in students, while researchers should adopt interdisciplinary approaches to address societal challenges and connect their work to broader issues such as environmental equality and sustainability. One interviewee comments: "One researcher can very much, for example, look at the modules I teach and think about whether what I teach is really in line with the contemporary paradigm and vision of systems thinking, forward thinking, value-based thinking, which is what the paradigm of education for sustainable development calls for. Do I encourage student activism? I am not only imparting knowledge, but also a lot of operational competences? Am I really developing value-based competences as well? I no longer believe that science and studies are value-neutral. We do have a value charge and even a duty to carry it."
A continuing process
Being aware of the huge challenge that sustainable development implies, one colleague summarizes: "There is no such thing as perfection when it comes to sustainable development. I really liked the idea that I once heard that perfect is complete. Do we want to be completed? We still want to change and do things!"