We participated in the design and teaching of UNESCO’s Sustainable University Leadership and Governance Program

During the second semester of 2023, the Sustainable University Leadership and Governance Program, developed by the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC), was carried out, in which itdUPM participated leading one of the four modules of the program.

The program began in Madrid, from September 20 to 22, with 20 rectors of Latin American universities. In this first meeting, they visited the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, as well as the itdUPM, to learn about the University’s innovation strategy, the accountability model developed by the UPM’s UNESCO Chair in University Management and Policy, and the itdUPM’s network projects.

After this face-to-face meeting, the course began in virtual format. The objectives of the module led by itdUPM, entitled Challenges and Pathways to 2050, were:

To critically reflect on how the global sustainability agenda requires institutional and organizational changes in universities.
To delve into interdisciplinary practices, and the mechanisms for their promotion at the university level.
To discuss and analyze the role of universities as an actor to promote innovation and social transformation of their environments (cities and territories).
To learn principles and methods for working in alliance with other public, private and social organizations.
To critically analyze the organizational resistances and inertias that may appear when trying to work breaking “silos” and in a collaborative way.

The module, facilitated by Carlos Mataix and Andrea Amaya, from the itdUPM team, counted with the participation of experts in the field of sustainability who shared their extensive experience and expertise through videos and provided enriching perspectives on the topics discussed. Their participation allowed us to explore success stories, relevant challenges and best practices.

We began by delving into how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) invite us to question and transform the incentives of institutions. For this we counted on Javier Carrasco, retired Professor of Organizational Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid and current collaborator of the Sustainable Organizations Research Group (GIOS) and the Center for Innovation in Technologies for Human Development (itdUPM).

We then discussed the importance of interdisciplinarity in higher education. We learned about the concepts of “multi, inter and trans” disciplinarity, and explored spaces and experiences that promote it. We counted on Marcel Bursztyn, professor at the Center for Sustainable Development of the University of Brasilia.

We also addressed the University’s model of knowledge transfer to advance the 2030 Agenda. We discussed the link between research and the great global challenges and how to move towards a more open and systemic innovation model, using the example of the Missions in the European Union. We have the experience of Julio Lumbreras, professor at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) and director of CitiES 2030.

Finally, we talk about partnerships for innovation and transformation. We clarified the basic concepts of partnerships and how universities can be intermediaries in the creation and management of these partnerships. We were joined by Leda Stott, an international specialist in multi-stakeholder partnerships, who for the past 25 years has worked in the management, training and evaluation of projects and partnership processes between different social actors for intergovernmental organizations such as the European Commission, the United Nations and the World Bank, as well as bilateral development agencies in Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.

During the second semester of 2023, the Sustainable University Leadership and Governance Program, developed by the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC), was carried out, in which itdUPM participated leading one of the four modules of the program.

The program began in Madrid, from September 20 to 22, with 20 rectors of Latin American universities. In this first meeting, they visited the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, as well as the itdUPM, to learn about the University’s innovation strategy, the accountability model developed by the UPM’s UNESCO Chair in University Management and Policy, and the itdUPM’s network projects.

After this face-to-face meeting, the course began in virtual format. The objectives of the module led by itdUPM, entitled Challenges and Pathways to 2050, were:

To critically reflect on how the global sustainability agenda requires institutional and organizational changes in universities.
To delve into interdisciplinary practices, and the mechanisms for their promotion at the university level.
To discuss and analyze the role of universities as an actor to promote innovation and social transformation of their environments (cities and territories).
To learn principles and methods for working in alliance with other public, private and social organizations.
To critically analyze the organizational resistances and inertias that may appear when trying to work breaking “silos” and in a collaborative way.

The module, facilitated by Carlos Mataix and Andrea Amaya, from the itdUPM team, counted with the participation of experts in the field of sustainability who shared their extensive experience and expertise through videos and provided enriching perspectives on the topics discussed. Their participation allowed us to explore success stories, relevant challenges and best practices.

We began by delving into how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) invite us to question and transform the incentives of institutions. For this we counted on Javier Carrasco, retired Professor of Organizational Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid and current collaborator of the Sustainable Organizations Research Group (GIOS) and the Center for Innovation in Technologies for Human Development (itdUPM).

We then discussed the importance of interdisciplinarity in higher education. We learned about the concepts of “multi, inter and trans” disciplinarity, and explored spaces and experiences that promote it. We counted on Marcel Bursztyn, professor at the Center for Sustainable Development of the University of Brasilia.

We also addressed the University’s model of knowledge transfer to advance the 2030 Agenda. We discussed the link between research and the great global challenges and how to move towards a more open and systemic innovation model, using the example of the Missions in the European Union. We have the experience of Julio Lumbreras, professor at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) and director of CitiES 2030.

Finally, we talk about partnerships for innovation and transformation. We clarified the basic concepts of partnerships and how universities can be intermediaries in the creation and management of these partnerships. We were joined by Leda Stott, an international specialist in multi-stakeholder partnerships, who for the past 25 years has worked in the management, training and evaluation of projects and partnership processes between different social actors for intergovernmental organizations such as the European Commission, the United Nations and the World Bank, as well as bilateral development agencies in Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.