Policy Insight Launch: Beyond 2030: What Role for Higher Education in the New Global Agenda?

In 2015, the United Nations agreed on Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), putting in place a global framework of action for the next 15 years. With only five years left, few believe that the goals will be achieved, and some aspects of the ecological and social crisis are worsening. Furthermore, there are debates about the architecture and conceptualisation of the agenda, with calls for a new understanding of development to replace it in 2030. The time is ripe for deep reflection and open imagination on the global development agenda. As spaces for education, research and public engagement, universities have a particularly important role in this debate, yet have been peripheral actors in decision-making in the past. While higher education is widely recognised as playing a driving role in achieving the SDGs, significant transformations in the sector are required to fulfil that potential. With only four years to go until the end of the SDG era, it is vital that a vigorous, critical and well-informed debate is promoted on the key issues. This proposed publication aims to make a crucial contribution to these debates at the intersection of academia and policymaking.