Àngels Fitó

The preliminary outcomes of the program GUNi International Call to Action (GUN-ICA, 2024–2026) have been included in the report Higher Education for Sustainability: Leadership, Learning and the Development of Senior Teams. This analytical report examines higher education for sustainability, with a particular focus on the learning and development of senior leadership teams within the sector. The study explores the complex terrain that senior leaders must navigate in responding to urgent global challenges.

This milestone marks the culmination of work that began in December 2024 and includes GUNI-ICA as a great example of good practice for senior HE leaders in sustainability, among other case studies. Based on its findings, the study proposes a sustainability leadership competence framework for managers, encompassing essential capabilities such as strategic and systems thinking, emotional intelligence, and collaboration. The framework is structured around four key dimensions: learning to know, learning to be, learning to change, and learning to work with others. It is intended to guide the development of the abilities required to lead transformative change.

The study also includes 16 strategic recommendations to strengthen sustainability leadership capacity across European HEIs, supporting stakeholders such as the European Commission and national authorities in embedding a culture of leadership for sustainability and contributing to the wider goals of the green transition and sustainable development.

Professor Daniella Tilbury, Honorary Fellow at St Catharine’s College (University of Cambridge), Chair of the Network for Institutions and Leaders for Future Generations, and member of the Group of Experts of the GUNi-ICA program, is the author of this report, which has been promoted by the European Expert Network on Economics of Education (EENEE). Sponsored by the Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission (EC), the network aimed to contribute to the improvement of decision-making and policy development in education and training in Europe by advising and supporting the EC in the analysis of economic aspects of educational policies and reforms. 

The GUNi-ICA program, and the 19 universities involved, continue working to explore new ways of managing and leading higher education institutions and to foster their transformation into more sustainable, innovative and socially engaged institutions.

On the occasion of the COP30, GUNi publishes the international declaration Empowering higher education institutions and students to become agents of change for a more sustainable future.

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are fundamental social pillars with a crucial role to play in addressing climate change. They are changemakers capable of advancing sustainable development through their core academic missions -teaching and learning, scientific research and community engagement- as well as supporting actions such as campus operations and governance. Additionally, they can foster active collaboration across their ecosystems. However, this potential remains largely underutilized.

Furthermore, younger generations are demanding a shift in societal priorities for a sustainable future. Youth movements such as Students Organizing for Sustainability International, Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion -just to mention a few-, are highlighting scientific insights into the anomalies of the current paradigm.

In this context, GUNi aims to join the international effort to prevent and combat climate change through a joint initiative that proposes concrete actions toward a more sustainable and holistic approach for higher education systems, with a particular focus on youth.   

The current declaration results from a collaborative initiative of the GUNi Strategic Council and proposes specific actions across four main areas identified during the process: education, scientific research and science diplomacy, public debate and campus operations.

Yeditepe University, located in Istanbul (Turkey), was the venue for the fourth international meeting of the International Call to Action program promoted by the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi). The event, held from October 13 to 15, brought together representatives from universities in Palestine, Portugal, Kyrgyzstan, Spain and Turkey.

Throughout the event, participants addressed key issues concerning the future of higher education, such as institutional transformation, university resilience, and their commitment to managing change. Among the highlighted contributions, consultant and CEO of Eoh-for-good, Toñi Caro, led an interactive session focused on the strategic projects of member universities, while Professor Orçun Türegün conducted the workshop “The Agile HEI: Thriving in a VUCA World Through Collaborative Leadership,” which drew great interest from attendees.

The meeting was hosted with the hospitality of Professor Berrin Yanikkaya, and coincided with the GUNi Strategic Council meeting, which delved deeper into the themes of the upcoming GUNi World Report and GUNi International Declarations, in which council members are actively involved. The event also featured the presentation of the program’s activity calendar up to November 2026, which will conclude with a public final event in Barcelona, marking the culmination of the collaborative work cycle launched in 2024 through the International Call to Action program.

The missions of universities: from three to one?

In recent decades, we have come to categorize the main missions of universities into three: teaching (first mission), scientific research (second), and transfer/innovation/social engagement (third). Teaching and research undoubtedly constitute the core of university activity — their main reason for being. This is especially true for public universities, where research plays a very important role.

In this sense, the third mission would broadly encompass everything that the university undertakes beyond the core functions of teaching and research.

Historically, the third mission referred mainly to technology transfer; over time, it expanded to include innovation in a broader sense and eventually also what is known as university extension, social engagement, scientific outreach, relationships with other institutions and with the territory, etc. Some authors even distinguish between a third and a fourth mission. In other articles and publications, I have reflected on the third mission and the social commitment of universities (see, for example, Transforming Universities: Service-Learning as a Paradigm, The Social Value of Universities, or Global and Local Universities? Moving Toward a Socially Responsible University).

Moving beyond nomenclature

Beyond the labels and categorizations (products of historical evolution, shifting priorities, and, admittedly, trends), what I wish to emphasize and bring into public debate is the need to rethink the very purpose of universities in the 21st century, particularly their public and social dimension.

The first two classical missions are the core. However, as mentioned, the third mission has been widening and now includes a wide variety of objectives — often treated as residual. At the limit, we might say that the third mission encompasses what is considered non-essential (training and research) and, in a general sense, everything that links universities with their environment (territory, companies, civil society, citizens, etc.).

But does this mean that teaching and research (the “core”) are disconnected from social commitment and from the social, economic, and cultural environment? Is it reasonable to separate these “missions” so clearly when in reality they are — or should be — deeply intertwined? When we speak about the environment and social engagement, are we referring only to the local space (city, region, local economy) or do we include the global sphere?

These are some of the questions that, I believe, we need to put on the table in order to rethink the social function of universities, their priorities, and even their academic conception and organizational structure.

Social commitment as a core mission

My thesis is that we should consider social commitment as the main mission of universities (at both the local and global scale), understanding that this raison d’être translates into diverse objectives: educating citizens and professionals, advancing science and knowledge, and promoting innovation and social transformation.

It may seem like a Byzantine discussion without real consequences. However, the more I reflect on it, the more I reaffirm the idea of placing social commitment at the very core of universities’ mission. From this perspective, we have been working for 25 years in the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi), which brings together more than 300 universities and UNESCO Chairs worldwide.

Society challenges the university mission

How can we construct an academic architecture disconnected from the common good? How can we conduct research without the complicity and involvement of citizens and collective needs? Is the promotion of culture still a core part of the university, or has it become something residual? Does it make sense to train citizens and professionals without their participation or without listening to social needs and demands?

Universities can and must play a strategic role in the knowledge societies of the 21st century. Their unique nature positions them as key actors to design and evaluate public policies, foster informed consensus, strengthen citizenship and democratic values, promote cultural creation, and even advance toward a global citizenship with shared values.

They are probably the institutions best equipped to tackle complex collective challenges — provided they overcome bureaucratic inertia and disciplinary silos.

To do so, they must have real academic and management autonomy, adapting the classical concept of university autonomy to today’s context. In fact, if we fail to center public universities on these parameters, we risk turning them into mere “instrumental” centers for professional training and knowledge production, which others may exploit for private or even questionable purposes. In the extreme, the most ultra-liberal voices could argue that public universities are no longer necessary, since private offerings — in various formats — could fulfill these instrumental functions more efficiently.

Universities and social transformation: two critical challenges

Professor Otto Scharmer recently published an excellent article titled Universities as Innovation Ecologies for Human and Planetary Flourishing.

Scharmer argues that education in general, and universities in particular, must go beyond mere intellectual exercise and engage in social regeneration and transformation. I completely agree. He asserts that:

“Universities, even if under attack, must do more than just defend the status quo. Universities must step up to fill this void by rethinking how they educate for leadership, collaboration, and systemic transformation going forward.”

And he strongly states:

“A university that is not able to link with and innovate for the profound challenges facing our planet is not a university — at least not one that the 21st century calls for, one that revolves around the integration of teaching and research with the praxis of regenerating soil, society, and self. (…) We should reimagine the university as an innovation ecology that is, through a system of hubs, deeply embedded in the root systems of profound personal, ecological, and societal renewal.”

Creating spaces for regeneration

The universities of our time must be spaces for reflection, innovation, and action to address humanity’s great challenges. One of these, undoubtedly, is the climate emergency and sustainability. Universities must play a crucial role — not only in generating interdisciplinary knowledge about climate change and the sustainability paradigm but also by becoming genuine spaces for social transformation, acting as beacons and catalysts.

To become true agents of change and regeneration, universities must transform internally and rethink their mission and objectives to embrace radical social commitment.

As we know, the political context of recent years in some countries has generated enormous pressure on universities, even questioning scientific activity and promoting direct government intervention in university autonomy to silence critical thinking, multilateralism, and international cooperation. The United States under the Trump administration was a clear example of this, but similar tensions have arisen in other countries as well.

Universities must unequivocally commit to the scientific method and knowledge, to academic freedom, and to the defense of human rights and democracy.

Doing so is essential not only for the human and social progress of their respective countries but also globally, where universities can and must cooperate intensely for the common good of humanity.

The public universities of Catalonia were present at the 35th annual EAIE (European Association for International Education) conference and exhibition, the leading European event dedicated to the international projection of universities. This year’s gathering, held in the city of Gothenburg, brought together more than 7,000 professionals from the sector and featured over 250 sessions and more than 1,000 organisations from over 150 countries.

Within this framework, ACUP presented the poster “Catalonia: A global university and research system, open to the world and committed to society”, which highlights the scope of internationalisation at Catalan public universities. While student mobility remains a key element, the participation of Catalan public universities in the European universities initiative and their active commitment to society demonstrate that internationalisation goes far beyond traditional boundaries. The poster also illustrates how ACUP universities, working in a coordinated way, cover the entire Catalan territory and complement each other in their efforts for international projection.

Taking advantage of the occasion, the delegation of public universities also met with the Rector of the University of Gothenburg and Vice-President of the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions (SUHF), Professor Malin Broberg, with the aim of gaining a first-hand understanding of the Swedish public university system. During the meeting, ACUP’s role was presented, the importance of the Catalan university system in the field of internationalisation and research was highlighted, and the need to protect and strengthen public universities in both countries was underlined.

Finally, the Catalan universities actively participated in the EAIE Exhibition with the traditional “Study in Catalonia” stand, a result of collaboration with the Interuniversity Council of Catalonia (CIC) and the Department of Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia.

• GUNi actively participated, contributing its expertise in the field and reaffirming its commitment to embedding sustainability at the core of university missions.

As part of the 2nd Mediterranean Green Week, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), in collaboration with UNIMED – the Mediterranean Universities Union and the University of Girona, convened a high-level consultation aimed at strengthening climate action and sustainability in higher education across the Euro-Mediterranean region.

The meeting, held on June 26–27, 2025, brought together academic leaders, researchers, and international organizations to explore the role of universities in addressing climate challenges and accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).