Karin Oberauer, Bettina Knoflach, Johann Stötter, Lars Keller, Desalegn Yayeh Ayal, Ulisses M. Azeiteiro, Henri-Count Evans, Inga Grinfelde, José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra, Jasenka Gajdoš Kljusurić, João Carlos Correia Leitão, Chunlan Li, Newton R. Matandirotya, Bethwel Mutai, Gustavo J. Nagy, Thierry Razanakoto, Jame Schaefer, Goran Trbic, Roberto Ariel Abeldaño Zuñiga, Sane Pashane Zuka, Charles Galdies, Adriana Consorte-McCrea, Francisco Platas, Mittul Vahanvati, Pedi Obani, Safwatun Nida, Lucas Gabriel Zanon, Mayara Régia Sousa de Melo, Alison Glover, Roman Vakulchuk
In the light of the Agenda 2030, education is broadly recognized as goal in itself (SDG4) as well as key enabler to achieve all other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including Climate Action (SDG13). Consequently, one of the main aims of the Austrian initiative UniNEtZ (Universities and SDGs) is transformation in the field of teaching, especially within higher education institutions (HEIs), including development and implementation of new study programs, orientation of curricula toward the SDGs and Education for Sustainable Development, and the support of educators to initiate the transformation toward Transformative Education for Sustainable Development. To start this ambitious and ideally participatory process, there is a need to know the status quo, i.e., an overview of what is already taking place within HEIs’ curricula and teaching, regarding sustainability topics as well as key competencies of Education for Sustainable Development, for example, integrated problem-solving competency, systems thinking competency, and collaboration competency. This chapter seeks to provide an insight into a UniNEtZ pilot study at the University of Innsbruck based on questionnaires for students and educators as well as an analysis of existing curricula. Using a mixed methods approach, results of the study can be a starting point for future training for educators and the creation of new learning formats. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Eswatini, Manzini, Kwaluseni Campus, Matsapha, South Africa; Institute of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Engineering, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava, Latvia; Center for Sustainable Development (Greens), Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (Unisul), Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil; School of Urban and Regional Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Centre, Beitbridge, Zimbabwe; Kgotso Development Trust, Beitbridge, Zimbabwe; Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; CERED, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar; Marquette University, Milwaukee, United States; University of Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, Mexico; University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Land Economy, University of Malawi, The Polytechnic, Blantyre 3, Malawi; Institute of Earth Systems, University of Malta, Msida, Malta; Academy for Sustainable Futures, Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom; Casa de Cultura de la UAEMéx en Tlalpan, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico; School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom; Science Education Department of Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia; University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil; State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil; The Open University, Cardiff, United Kingdom; Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Oslo, Norway; Department of Subject-Specific Education, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; Department of Geography, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; Center for Food Security Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa Univesity, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; The Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) and Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
