Bringing HEIs Towards Sustainability

Climate change is increasingly perceived as the defining challenge of our time as it endangers life and livelihood on our planet. The Erasmus+ project BRIGHTS, coordinated by the University of Pavia, Italy, underlines the central role of universities for a successful transition to becoming climate neutral by 2050. Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are asked to be protagonists of transition, however, not all of them have the skills to do so, and need to be quickly empowered, as the time to act on the climate crisis is getting shorter. The project aims to contribute to boosting and valorizing the central role of HEIs in tackling the 2030 Agenda, the Green Deal objectives, and overall environmental priorities. That will be done at all levels of the academic community, from students, to teaching staff, and to the organizational, systemic level. The project will develop courses on SDGs, using innovative didactical methodologies, in order to raise the awareness on the SDGs and Sustainability. Helping students gain leadership skills in sustainability is necessary to ensure proper youth involvement in the transition, and as a tool to empower their career path and opportunities in the rising green jobs area. Furthermore, BRIGHTS will collect best practices in order to spread knowledge and awareness to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.