The role of campus, curriculum, and community in higher education for sustainable development – a conference report

On the last day of the 4th UNESCO Chair Conference on Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD), in September 2011 at Leuphana University of Lüneburg (Germany), three roundtables were held on university contributions to sustainable development in the fields of “campus”, “curriculum” and “community”. Each roundtable (RT) was chaired by a leading expert in the field. The Campus RT highlighted, for instance, the role of communication, the importance of engaging all university members while also including senior administration officials, and the value of acting as an example of sustainability for neighbouring communities; the Curriculum RT discussed, among other aspects, the relevance of windows of opportunity, external pressure and internal drivers; whereas the Community RT highlighted the significance of universities as meeting places, the engagement of students with the real world and the expansion of quality criteria as well as quality assurance.