Despite the relevance of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the fact that universities may make valuable contributions towards their implementation, there is a paucity of international studies which may allow an assessment of their degree of engagement or their performance against the SDGs. This paper reports on an international study among a sample of 128 members of higher education institutions (HEIs) located in 28 countries, which aimed at ascertaining the extent to which the SDGs are being integrated into the strategy of HEIs. The focus of this paper is on the means which have been deployed by various universities in order to embed or include the SDGs in their activities. More specifically, this paper explores 1) the scope of integration, 2) the organisational influences, and 3) strategic influencing factors. The research identified the fact that, whereas many organisations are aware of the need for and the relevance of sustainable development and consider it as part of their institutional settings, the same cannot be said for the SDGs, whose level of emphasis is that many HEIs are comparatively somewhat limited. In addition, there seems to be a shortage of training opportunities focusing on the SDGs, which could equip university staff to handle this topic. Against this background, the paper describes some measures that may be implemented to make the SDGs more present in HEI programmes, hence maximising their contribution to addressing the global sustainability challenges.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were conceived at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 (Rio + 20), and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015. They are part of a larger framework, namely the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Since then, many countries round the world have been engaging in respect of their implementation. The slow progress seen in the implementation of the SDGs, is in contrast with the many negative implications of not implementing them. This paper outlines the relevance of the SDGs, the barriers currently seen in respect of their implementation and outlines what is at stake, if they are not duly implemented. To accomplish this, a thorough literature review of contributions published in the field of SDGs in English between the years 2012–2020 was performed.

This paper reports on a comprehensive study, which has investigated the approaches, methods and tools being deployed in implementing living labs among higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world. Two methods were employed. First, a bibliometric analysis of the current emphasis given to living labs in a sustainable development context and in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Second, an empirical study aimed at identifying the use levels of living labs at HEIs. This was accomplished through an analysis of selected case studies that showcased successful approaches to SDGs implementation with living labs, and resulted in a framework for action. There are three main findings from these analyses. The first is that the multidisciplinary character of living labs in the context of sustainable development needs to be considered, to maximize their impacts. Second, most of the studied living labs focus on SDGs 4 and 11, which deal with providing quality education and ensuring the sustainable development of cities and communities. Third, the challenges encountered in the implementation of living labs refer to (1) the complexities in institutional administration, (2) the tensions between different groups of interest that need to be addressed by enhanced communication, and (3) the necessity to pay attention to the demand of using sustainability and innovation as a strategy in the operations of living labs. The paper draws from the experiences and lessons learned and suggests specific measures, which will improve the use of living labs as more systemic tools towards the implementation of the SDGs.

The crisis caused by COVID-19 has affected research in a variety of ways. As far as research on sustainable development is concerned, the lockdown has significantly disrupted the usual communication channels and, among other things, has led to the cancellation of meetings and long-planned events. It has also led to delay in the delivery of research projects. There is a gap in the literature in regards to how a global crisis influences sustainability research. Therefore, this ground-breaking paper undertakes an analysis of the extent to which COVID-19 as a whole, and the lockdown in particular, has influenced sustainability research, and it outlines the solutions pursued by researchers around the world to overcome the many challenges they have experienced. This paper also outlines some measures that may be implemented in the future to take more advantage of existing technologies that support research on sustainable development.