Document is current

Chapter History

First Online: 12 April 2025

Discussion and Conclusion. Potential Prescriptive Choices

: One of the assumed roles of HEIs in Qatar is to prepare the leaders of tomorrow. In relation to SD, it implies preparing active, responsible, and critical citizens to be actors of change in society. This would provide for an understanding and perspective for Qatari students to explore more active and creative roles in society, among others, by prompting different attitudes towards work, consumption, and social interaction. The identification of policy problems and challenges related to SD in Qatar in terms of its society and economy is based on the understanding that HEIs can have a transformational impact in the real world at the level of ecological policies, sustainability, and individual/collective well-being (Thomas and Ormerod, ). Indeed, an increasing bulk of the literature is exploring the contribution of HEI outreach activities in contributing to the development of SD (Rubens et al., ). Some of these practices and initiatives might be relevant and applicable to the setting of Qatar.Findler et al. (2019) insist on the distinction between the different impacts of HEIs, and the policies that guide them in SD; the traditional academic and institutional impacts (scholarly and educational) on one hand, and the nonacademic impacts on society (civil society, public policies, and media) on the other hand. HEIs have to impart transformative change within their own organisation, while contributing to changes within society as a whole (Stephens et al., ). As highlighted before, HEIs are no longer relegated to being an ivory tower, cut off from the world, but rather are part of society, potentially able to contribute to its development and activities. Considering the many challenges Qatar is facing in its transition to a knowledge society and the implementation of SDGs, HEIs’ responsibilities and roles clearly become more important.Changes to the curriculum, designing new modules, SD activities within the campus, and new research, are all common within HEIs (Disterheft et al., ). The HEIs in Qatar are no different in this respect. For example, Qatar University has initiated multiple actions for SD, as reported in its annual Sustainable Development Report (Qatar University ). They are organised under four categories, Research, Outreach, Students and Learning, Operation and Collaboration, for each of the 17 SDGs. While the university engages in long-term activities, such as finding financial support for students, many of the activities are one-off events or include activities already existing in the university that may not necessarily have been initiated while having SD in mind (Shawe et al., ). This may raise concerns about the potential dispersal of activities without an overall detailed strategic or policy framework. Such a framework would enhance the activities’ impact by aiming at a common SD goal. It would also guide actors’ interventions, by raising awareness of the importance of SD in achieving its goals. Other HEIs are also conducting SD activities and interventions. There may be dispersal, duplication, or even competition related to these activities. The definition of a common nationwide framework and reference policy for HEIs with a healthy leeway for each institution to act upon its own priorities and strategies could help in coordinating efforts and enhancing potential impact.Another important aspect is the need for collaboration between the HEIs in the country. Education City IBCs collaborate and coordinate on specific programmes (Ahmed, ), and there is also the Education City Sustainability Network, involving the Qatar Foundation Institution and IBCs in SD. Yet there seems to be limited collaboration with other HEIs. Additionally, several networks for SD exist in Qatar, at the national level, with Sustainable Qatar or Qatar Sustainability Network (QSN), as well as at the regional level, with the Gulf Organisation for Research & Development. However, these networks are either not specifically focused on HE nationally or focusing at national level but not within HE.Similarly, HEIs are individual members of international initiatives such as Nature Positive Universities. Let us highlight two aspects which can be beneficial in this regard. First, each institution remains isolated and takes action on its own, without institutional or formal collaboration, even if collaboration can happen at an individual level. Secondly, there is again risk of duplication or even competition in undertaking activities for SD, a risk already highlighted above. Regional and national HE networks exist in Europe or North America. The efficiency and benefits of international networks and collaboration for SD have been observed (Bizerril et al., ). HEI Networks can both be influenced by or influence policies. Indeed, policies can facilitate their emergence and efficiency, and they can contribute to policy elaboration and implementation. Institutional policies, from governments or HEIs, can support the development of an HEI network focused on SD (Fahim et al., ).HEIs could also play a capital role in influencing attitudes towards work, career choices, and orientation in the direction of STEM-related academic subjects and associated jobs. HEIs aim at preparing responsible individuals, equipping students with lifelong learning abilities, and “empowering” them to become future leaders (Sever & Tok, , p. 332), which are factors of change in society (Stephens et al., ). Universities develop critical and responsible citizens (Larraín et al., ), providing them with a comprehensive understanding of environmental issues, their causes, and potential solutions (Boca & Saraçli, ). This will be cardinal in providing students with the ability to reflect on their professional choices and take responsible sustainable action in society. This is a complex process that the policies at the MOEHE and HEI levels can help to develop.While Education City IBCs have provided efforts in recent years to transform teaching and learning practices in HEIs (Chouchane et al., ), they have traditionally been teacher-centred, with the focus primarily on lectures and the transmission of knowledge from teacher to students (Sabah & Du, ). Efforts have been made to move towards student-centred learning, which emphasises active engagement, problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration among students (idem). There remains to be done to ensure that critical thinking skills are promoted within HEI practices. Critical thinking skills are key in ensuring that HEIs graduates and the rest of the society become actors in SD.Finally, the evaluation of HEIs’ impact on SD is challenging, as it is not possible to attribute results to the action itself without discarding other elements (international input, social change, economic evolution, and so on) (Findler et al., ). In Qatar, this is even more challenging as a result of diversity in the actions and approaches of the HEIs. Research into the impact of HEI outreach activities has gaps, among others, because of the difficulties in evaluating the impact of action within society. Informing policy and decision-makers, both at institutional and governmental levels would benefit from efforts from the academics in Qatar to evaluate, think, and explore HEI action over SDGs.