Week 6: University Sustainable Development

Today is already week 6! In today's class, we learned about the roles of universities for sustainable development. Universities play an important role in educating students about sustainable development. Furthermore, universities should also be providing students with the skills and motivation to understand and practice SDG. For example, IIUM already practices this by offering classes about sustainable development to their students. These classes are very important as this will encourage students to contribute to the goals.

In addition to this, the National Philosophy of Education (FPK) stated that education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards further developing the potential of an individuals in a holistic and integrated manner, so as to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonic, based on the firm believed in and devotion to God. However, due to covid 19 and the pandemic, this had to change to make it more suitable for the situation. 

During the covid-19 pandemic, it was believed that the factory mass teaching methods of the third revolution era have failed to conquer enduring problems of inequity and unfairness. Due to this, the basis of education changed from being based on manpower, mind, machine, and money to education being based on humanity, heart, high touch, and humility. Moreover, institutional sustainability is when a campus practices teaching and learning (nurturing the soul), community engagement (celebrating the soul), and research and innovation (from soul to soul).

Universities should also encourage their students to use SDG as a topic of their research and they should provide resources for students to learn and research about SDGs. This will not only expand people's knowledge about SDGs but it will also help promote the goals. 

Let's all contribute as much as we can to the SDGs!