University College London Institute of Education’s Professor Tristan McCowan, will be speaking at a free, one-off event on Thursday 30 January at 3.00-4.30pm at our offices in Woburn House, London. The talk will be followed by a networking drinks reception.
Following the success of his most recent publication, Higher Education for and beyond the Sustainable Development Goals, Professor McCowan will deliver a thought provoking talk on ‘What role for universities in sustainable development?’
Are universities part of the problem or part of the solution when it comes to sustainable development? If addressing climate change and other aspects of sustainable development depends on scientific breakthroughs and technological development, then universities would seem to be essential. But higher education has also been implicated in fostering the kind of unequal and wasteful political, economic and cultural system that has created the problems that now face us. If we are going to fulfil the huge potential that universities have in addressing societal challenges, a close-up understanding of the institution and its impact is needed.
This talk discusses this complex relationship between higher education and sustainability, and the role given to universities in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The one hour talk will be followed by a 30 minute question and answer session.
There will be a further opportunity to meet and speak with Professor McCowan, as well as fellow ACU members, at a drinks reception after the talk.
How to register
If you would like to attend this event, please email SDGs@acu.ac.uk to reserve your place by Monday 27 January. Limited spaces are available, so email soon to avoid disappointment.
This event is being delivered by the ACU Higher Education and the SDGs Network, a forum for all staff at ACU member universities who are directly engaging in the SDGs agenda. The Network aims to facilitate peer learning through sharing knowledge and good practice, discovering potential avenues for collaboration and partnerships, and sharing different approaches to how universities are engaging with the SDGs.