Successfully coping with complex, real-world challenges, such as those related to sustainable development and the resilience of coupled human–environment systems, calls increasingly for adapted forms of education and extended competences. Hence, we argue that, beyond knowledge and expertise in professional domains, additionally, personal, systemic, creative, and sociocultural competences are required to meet such challenges. Herefor, institutions of higher and continuing education play a crucial role. In this paper, universities as institutions of higher education are critically considered in relation to delivering education for sustainable development by raising awareness and providing the necessary competences to cope with complex problems such as sustainable development through effective forms of higher and continuing education as well as training. Research on attitudes and perceptions regarding sustainable development and the perceived need for comprehensive competences required to deal with such complex problems is still lacking. Our study provides a first attempt to elucidate core aspects of these attitudes, perceptions, and competences aiming to contribute to future, more tailored education approaches. We discuss the outcomes of a survey on sustainability in teaching and learning conducted at four Austrian universities. The analyzed sample comprised 3200 students as the recipients of, and 498 lecturers as the providers of, sustainability education in various academic disciplines at four distinct Austrian universities. Applying a questionnaire-based investigation of self-reported sustainability-related perceptions, attitudes, and competences and conducting factor analysis and cluster analysis, five sustainability types were identified that revealed a type of specific core awareness of sustainability and the perception of required competences related to sustainable development. The results presented are positioned to build a basis for further investigation that goes beyond the self-reported assessments to enable a comparison with sustainability-related, real-world problem-solving performance.

Nachhaltige Entwicklung ist angesichts der großen und dringenden globalen Herausforderungen eine für die gesamte Gesellschaft mehr denn je fordernde Aufgabe. Bildung ist ein Fundament zur Sensibilisierung, Bewusstseinsbildung und Entwicklung von Kompetenzen, die Menschen zukünftig befähigen, im Sinne einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung aktiv zu agieren. Doch wie kommen die erforderlichen Kompetenzen in das Bildungssystem?

Democratic systems are often seen as resilient, yet today they reach their limits: polarization, loss of trust, and digital discourses undermine their capacity to act. In this article, we explore how structural contradictions and communicative double binds challenge democratic practice ‐ and ask which new forms of participation are needed to secure future viability.

Background: Science–practice knowledge co-production, grounded in mutual learning, is a key strategy for generating and integrating knowledge to support informed decision-making in the face of complex societal challenges. However, it remains unclear to what extent the general population recognizes the need for such co-production. Methods: We conducted a quota-sampled survey (July-August 2021) among 3067 adult residents of the German-speaking countries in Europe (D-A-CH). Using multinomial regression models, we calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI), investigating correlates of agreement on the relevance of partnerships between science and practice. Results: In total, 81.8% of the sample expected science to provide clear results, and 90.1% agreed that complex challenges require science–practice knowledge co-production. In multivariable-adjusted models, agreement with the importance of science–practice co-production correlated positively with higher age (OR_fully-agree = 1.04; 95%CI = 1.03–1.06), being male (versus being female), and residing in Austria and Germany (versus residing in Switzerland). It was also significantly higher among participants without a migration history (vs. first- or second-generation migrants), and higher educational attainment (OR_fully-agree = 1.59; 95%CI = 1.08–2.33), and differed by several personality characteristics. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that a majority of respondents in the D-A-CH region view informed decision-making and policy development for complex challenges as requiring the collaboration and mutual learning between scientific and practice-based actors in addressing complex societal challenges. These findings suggest that educational and institutional interventions may contribute to strengthening collaboration between science and practice.