How academia drives sustainability: Discover the impact of science on the SDGs

The role of universities in the fight for a fairer and more sustainable planet is increasingly significant. A team of researchers from ESPOL decided to examine how academia contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by analyzing scientific publications on a global scale. Using tools such as ArcGIS, Biblioshiny, R, and VOSviewer, they conducted an in-depth review of scientific databases such as Web of Science and Scopus, tracking hundreds of articles addressing topics related to service-learning and community engagement. The results show a positive trend in scientific production on these topics, with a notable growth since 2009 and a peak in publications through 2022. Regarding the countries leading research in this field, the United States tops the list with 261 articles, followed by Spain with 64 and the United Kingdom with 40. The race for sustainability is on!.

Trending sustainability topics 

Through a detailed keyword analysis, the study identified six major clusters dominating the academic conversation on sustainability in higher education. Did you know that “education for sustainable development” is the key term? Here's a quick overview of each cluster and its main lines of research: 

• Cluster 1: Education, Partnerships, and Health: Focuses on how universities collaborate to improve social well-being. 

• Cluster 2: Education for Sustainable Development, Curriculum Development, and Assessment: Everything about integrating sustainability into educational programs! 

• Cluster 3: Engineering Education, Interdisciplinarity, and STEM: A powerful combination to innovate in teaching. 

• Cluster 4: Environment, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Project-Based Learning: Knowledge put into practice in real-world projects. 

• Cluster 5: Social Responsibility, Social Justice, Leadership, and Transformation: Investigating how change begins in the classroom. 

• Cluster 6: Experiential Learning and Sustainability Competencies: Because experience is the best teacher to inspire future generations of conscious professionals. 

The SDGs in Focus: The Major Contribution of Universities 

After deeply analyzing 118 scientific articles, the researchers concluded that higher education is strongly committed to sustainability. Most universities have not only implemented innovative programs based on experiential learning but are also aligning their efforts with the SDGs. The most researched SDG? SDG 4: Quality Education, closely followed by SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Additionally, the research highlights that the main areas of expertise in which these studies are situated correspond to UNESCO fields: education, social and human sciences, and natural sciences. 

Academia not only produces knowledge but creates a real impact in building a more sustainable future. And this is just the beginning!