Os objetivos de desenvolvimento sustentável nas instituições de ensino superior: iniciativas e barreiras no processo de implementação

Abstract

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are designated as important actors in the process of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda. As knowledge agents, HEIs maintain a critical role in collaborating for a socially just, economically viable and environmentally sustainable. As a general objective, this dissertation aims to understand how the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda are being incorporated into Higher Education Institutions, analyzing publications, research, initiatives, barriers and experiences of universities that are aligning with these global goals. Therefore, a systematic literature review was developed, analyzing 45 articles with empirical cases that were selected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases and from the website of the International Conference on Sustainable Development. In a second part of this research, a consultation was carried out in the Capes Theses and Dissertations Catalog, having identified 416 works that directly cite the SDGs. From a bibliometric approach, it was possible to analyze the temporal evolution of research, the areas and institutions that stand out the most, as well as the SDGs that have been most addressed in Brazilian theses and dissertations. This research also included an empirical study that included the submission of forms to all 69 Brazilian Federal Universities, via the Access to Information Law, analysis of documents and interviews, with this, it was analyzed how these institutions have been behaving on this theme, thus making it possible to gather a great balance of results. The systematization of the results is divided into three subchapters, among the research findings, the temporal evolution of research stands out, the areas and institutions that stand out the most, as well as the SDGs that have been most addressed in theses and dissertations, pointing out that this process needs to be further driven by institutions, encouraging master's and doctoral students to reflect on how their research impacts and influences the SDGs. In addition to these analyses, a set of initiatives developed by the HEIs that can be understood as good practices for the implementation of the SDGs were systematized. The main barriers that affect this alignment and that may hinder the integration of HEIs with the guidelines of sustainable development were also discussed. These elements were structured in different dimensions, comprising the impact at each organizational level present in universities. The results indicate the need to align strategic planning with all hierarchical levels of an institution to assist managers in decision making. All these elements and results were structured in different dimensions, providing fundamental information on how HEIs can implement the SDGs and how the SDGs contribute to the development of these institutions, highlighting the priority role that the university acquires in achieving these global goals.