Avoiding Collapse, Transitioning to Sustainability: Transforming Higher Education with Inter-Disciplinary Convergent Sustainability Science

Dr. Asim Zia

Professor of Public Policy and Computer Science, University of Vermont

In this age of Anthropocene, unfettered exploitation of natural resources by human activity are steering our planet towards an ecological collapse of life. 70% of the biodiversity has already been lost. Global carbon budget is rapidly shrinking to constrain global warming below 1.5C goal enshrined in Paris Agreement. With 8 billion people on the planet, secure access to food, energy, water, housing and transportation is increasingly challenged. Continuing dependence on fossil fuel driven economic growth vision of development will only hasten the imminent collapse of life, with people and ecosystems in developing countries already starting to face massive food, energy and water security crises. The traditional, colonial model of higher education is equally responsible for developing Human Resources that become part of this neo-liberal economic growth agenda, which only perpetuates inequity and elite capture of resources. In the face of these crises, humanity has little time and agency left to reconfigure our vision of development that requires transformations in all sectors of human activity impacting environment. Recent advances in Sustainability Science, some examples of which will be highlighted, provide a viable path towards decolonizing higher education by broadening the visions of sustainable development and dismantling colonial, neoliberal models of higher education. Inculcation of inter-disciplinary, convergent Sustainability Science education across engineering, health, natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities may give rise to a new generation of Human Resources that catalyze planetary transition to sustainability and avoid the imminent collapse of life on this planet.

International Summit on
Higher Education and Workforce Development
in 21st Century

30 November - 2 December 2022   |   Marriott Hotel, Islamabad

***All sessions will be streamed live, visit Link ***

Objectives

1. To bring together leaders and decision makers from universities, industry, and government to invigorate the higher education agenda and rethink the role of higher education in the 21st century.

2. To hold conversations on addressing key challenges faced by the public sector universities today while keeping a futuristic approach.

3. To serve as a springboard for forging a “community of practice” among higher education institutions and stakeholders, and to launch a subsequent policy dialogue series.

4. Expected Outcomes

   • Partnership opportunities identified among universities in Pakistan as well as those in Pakistan and in the US.

   • A summit communique summarizing the important policy recommendations emerged from different sessions to share with all relevant stakeholders.

   • Launching of policy dialogue series following the recommendations emerged from the summit.