Impact Story: Driving Transformative Change in Higher Education from Within

Yet, support received from supervisors at work did not emerge as a primary enabler. When asked about what most enabled them to apply the acquired knowledge, skills, and competencies, respondents above all pointed to opportunity (91 per cent), followed by the programme's training design and methodology (60 per cent) and confidence (56 per cent). 

The importance of programme design and methodology is further reflected in the extent to which participants continue to build on the practical outputs developed during the programme, using them as roadmaps for implementation within their institutions. The individual action plan is most widely taken forward, cited by 69 per cent of respondents, followed by the capstone project at 59 per cent, and both the institutional strategy and group action plan at 44 per cent. 

Mr. Dioum returned to the Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD) in Senegal with a clear plan. The theoretical had become practical, and he was ready to build on his capstone project to make the case internally to the Academic Affairs Office. He explains: 
 

After this programme, I have had so many discussions with my institution to see how it is possible to integrate the SDGs in our curriculum and course content [...] This programme gave us the possibility to integrate all the practical approaches [...] 
I developed a caption project that I will present next week […]. I am invited to make a presentation on how to integrate sustainability competences in our course during the series “Coffee Talk on Pedagogy”, organized twice monthly by the Direction des Affaires Pédagogiques.
 

Across the Indian Ocean, at the University of the Philippines, Chancellor Murao deliberately embedded a carbon footprint reduction goal into the university's institutional strategy following the programme. She describes:

Because it is now intentionally part [...] of our strategic plan […], people start to [...] talk about how we can save on energy, use of electricity, use of lights, use of air conditioning, [...] it is becoming part of our conversations already. [...] also because we have some policies on energy conservation. People are now more conscious of that policy and are trying to really practice it.

At the same time, the survey points to persistent barriers. The most cited challenges are lack of funding, lack of time, and lack of established structures and policies, reported by 55, 31, and 22 per cent of respondents, respectively. Interestingly, the latter weighed more heavily on respondents from the second edition, while those from the first edition more frequently reported resistance at the senior leadership or governance level and resistance due to institutional culture, procedures, or competing priorities. However, it is important to keep these figures in perspective, as they were reported by only 11 and 13 per cent of first edition respondents. While broadly consistent with the earlier finding that most respondents enjoyed senior leadership support, it is also a reminder that enabling conditions and pockets of friction often co-exist.

These challenges resonated strongly among participants of the focus group. Mr. Bracker expressed:

[...] A lack of financial support is always a problem, and [...] then of course, professors or teachers asking what do I gain from changing my courses and my curriculum? You have to set incentives, and all this costs a lot of money, and that is, especially in the current political situation, a problem.

These barriers underscore that sustainable transformation also depends on enabling conditions that extend well beyond what a single programme can provide.