The role of higher education institutions in laying the foundations of sustainable development is undeniable. As the principal educators of tomorrow’s leaders, such institutions can tremendously contribute to implementing and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Many studies highlighted the significance of the students’ awareness and the level of their active engagement as crucial elements in achieving the desired results. Therefore, measuring such awareness and its effect on their daily life and behavior is fundamental in implementing the SDGs. The current study employs an online survey to explore the awareness level of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Saudi universities. SPSS will be utilized to generate the statistical results of the study. The importance of this study stems from the scarcity of research in the field, especially in Saudi higher education institutions. The current research fills in a significant gap at the national level as it provides future researchers and higher education leaders with the much-needed data to prepare strategic plans for future enhancement of the application of the SDGs. It will also propose a set of practical strategies that can be advanced to augment Saudi students’ awareness of the SDGs and their possible application in their daily lives and practices.

Sustainable building design has gained global significance as a strategy to address environmental challenges and promote healthier living spaces. This concept is particularly relevant in Saudi Arabia, where there is a growing emphasis on integrating sustainable practices into the design and operation of buildings, especially in educational settings. Amidst the global push for sustainability in workplaces, this study’s core lies in assessing and comparing the satisfaction levels with the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of a Saudi Arabian higher education building against those in international green buildings, considering factors that comprise thermal comfort, air quality, lighting, acoustic quality, office arrangement, furnishings, cleanliness, and maintenance. Employing the Center for the Built Environment (CBE) IEQ survey tool, a comprehensive study was conducted among the building’s occupants. A literature review and benchmarking studies complemented this to gather data on international green buildings. This study aims to assess and compare the satisfaction levels with the IEQ of a Saudi Arabian higher education building against international green buildings. The comparative analysis aims to expose the commonalities and differences in satisfaction levels, exploring how various factors influence overall satisfaction with the IEQ. The research found that there is overall satisfaction with the IEQ parameters of the building under investigation, except with two parameters: acoustics and thermal comfort. The building is generally in alignment with the IEQ of international buildings. This research is presumed to contribute significantly to sustainability initiatives in educational buildings, fostering a healthier and more sustainable workplace environment.

Architecture students have a limited understanding of technology’s pedagogical benefits, which creates a gap between the potential of technology-enhanced learning and its actual implementation. A promising solution to this underlying problem would be the integration of GAI in architecture education. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of GAI in architecture education from students’ perspectives. A self-developed questionnaire was employed to collect data from 239 architecture students from three universities in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Frequency distribution and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed for data analysis. The study found a low level of awareness and moderate level of perception toward GAI. Integrating GAI into architecture education through knowledge and ethical awareness enhances students’ general skills competency and architecture and design expertise. Students who perceive GAI as beneficial enhance their general skills competency, while those who perceive GAI as challenging undermine their architecture and design expertise. The study also reported that students who intend to integrate GAI in architecture education have high ethical awareness toward GAI and possess a positive perception about GAI while inclining toward its benefits. Students should gain a better understanding of GAI tools and the ways to use them in architecture education in order to improve their general and field-specific skills proficiency. Educators must work with students to enhance their knowledge about GAI and the perception of its benefits and challenges, so that a focused skills development can transform students’ basic competencies to advanced architecture and design expertise.

The literature on engineering education research highlights the relevance of evaluating course learning outcomes (CLOs). However, generic and reliable mechanisms for evaluating CLOs remain challenges. The purpose of this project was to accurately assess the efficacy of the learning and teaching techniques through analysing the CLOs’ performance by using an advanced analytical model (i.e., the Rasch model) in the context of engineering and business education. This model produced an association pattern between the students and the overall achieved CLO performance. The sample in this project comprised students who are enrolled in some nominated engineering and business courses over one academic year at Prince Sultan University, Saudi Arabia. This sample considered several types of assessment, such as direct assessments (e.g., quizzes, assignments, projects, and examination) and indirect assessments (e.g., surveys). The current research illustrates that the Rasch model for measurement can categorise grades according to course expectations and standards in a more accurate manner, thus differentiating students by their extent of educational knowledge. The results from this project will guide the educator to track and monitor the CLOs’ performance, which is identified in every course to estimate the students’ knowledge, skills, and competence levels, which will be collected from the predefined sample by the end of each semester. The Rasch measurement model’s proposed approach can adequately assess the learning outcomes.

This study aimed to find a new methodology to incorporate sustainability principles into architectural design education to guide students in creating sustainable projects. The study is based on the hypothesis that although architecture students have a good theoretical base regarding sustainability, they are likely to face difficulties in implementing this knowledge. Accordingly, this study employed a qualitative analytical method comprising two main stages. The first involved applying the proposed pedagogy, focused on incorporating sustainability into Design Studio 5 in the architectural engineering department. The second stage entailed analyzing the students’ and instructors’ perceptions of the newly applied pedagogical strategy. The study concludes with a vital finding: encouraging students to incorporate sustainability from the early stages of a project will help them achieve the highest sustainable performance, making sustainability an intrinsic part of the concept. Finally, the study results support the recommendation that architecture programs should aim to increase students’ experience with sustainable design applications by offering training workshops and linking environmental courses to the design studio.