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G. Sonetti and P. Lombardi
nurture a “collective” consciousness toward the agreed (sustainable development)
goals. Working toward a common goals also fosters creative skills and mindsets
are indispensable in a workforce that must be responsive to change and capable of
finding new solutions to complex problems. The World Economic Forum itself has
identified social abilities such as coordinating with others and persuasion, as well as
complex problem-solving skills, as essential in the knowledge-based workplace of the
near future.
2 Also, according to the European Commission’s new Entrepreneurship
Competence Framework, entrepreneurial education includes life skills as well as
business skills. It means learners can act upon opportunities and ideas and transform
them into value for others, whether financial, cultural, or social (Kim 2011).
The problem is indeed not in the “amount” of knowledge the University transfer to
students. The problem is a knowing-doing gap: a disconnect between our collective
and our collective actions. These gaps and divides are amplified by the silos structure
of our key institutions and the mindset of the decision makers that operate inside
them (Scharmer 2018). A collaborative group of departments or students formed
around a real challenge (that can come from a company, institution or from the
students themselves) will chose to learn certain skills or knowledge or do research
on a tailor-made base (Hogg et al. 2004; Kleine et al. 1993; Turner and Reynolds
2001). This approach stimulates a learning by doing approach, making knowledge
and skills acquired relevant and applicable to the concrete goal achievement, besides
contributing to the full development of an autonomous, supportive, responsible and
committed person with an entrepreneurial mindset. At the end of the university path,
students could have made a real positive impact on society and the University can
be part of an educational system helping young people to develop their full physical,
intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual capacities as individuals and as members
of society, and thus contribute to the development of a better world (Fink 2013;
Magolda 2004; Pizzolato 2003).
11 Conclusion
Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, the agenda of the 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) represents a new coherent way of thinking about how
issues as diverse as poverty, education and climate change fit together; it embeds
economic, social and environmental targets in an holistic way. Implicit in such SDG
logic is that each goal relies on another, although there are no clear ways to measure this intersection. International negotiations are obviously one trial table of these
trade-offs. Universities, with their broad responsibility in the creation and dissemination of knowledge and their exceptional position within society, have a crucial role
to play in the achievement of the SDGs and in understanding the complexity underling them, since they can help to demonstrate the university impact on society, shape
2 https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/04/education-systems-can-stifle-creative-thought-here-show-to-do-things-differently.
G. Sonetti and P. Lombardi
nurture a “collective” consciousness toward the agreed (sustainable development)
goals. Working toward a common goals also fosters creative skills and mindsets
are indispensable in a workforce that must be responsive to change and capable of
finding new solutions to complex problems. The World Economic Forum itself has
identified social abilities such as coordinating with others and persuasion, as well as
complex problem-solving skills, as essential in the knowledge-based workplace of the
near future.
2 Also, according to the European Commission’s new Entrepreneurship
Competence Framework, entrepreneurial education includes life skills as well as
business skills. It means learners can act upon opportunities and ideas and transform
them into value for others, whether financial, cultural, or social (Kim 2011).
The problem is indeed not in the “amount” of knowledge the University transfer to
students. The problem is a knowing-doing gap: a disconnect between our collective
and our collective actions. These gaps and divides are amplified by the silos structure
of our key institutions and the mindset of the decision makers that operate inside
them (Scharmer 2018). A collaborative group of departments or students formed
around a real challenge (that can come from a company, institution or from the
students themselves) will chose to learn certain skills or knowledge or do research
on a tailor-made base (Hogg et al. 2004; Kleine et al. 1993; Turner and Reynolds
2001). This approach stimulates a learning by doing approach, making knowledge
and skills acquired relevant and applicable to the concrete goal achievement, besides
contributing to the full development of an autonomous, supportive, responsible and
committed person with an entrepreneurial mindset. At the end of the university path,
students could have made a real positive impact on society and the University can
be part of an educational system helping young people to develop their full physical,
intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual capacities as individuals and as members
of society, and thus contribute to the development of a better world (Fink 2013;
Magolda 2004; Pizzolato 2003).
11 Conclusion
Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, the agenda of the 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) represents a new coherent way of thinking about how
issues as diverse as poverty, education and climate change fit together; it embeds
economic, social and environmental targets in an holistic way. Implicit in such SDG
logic is that each goal relies on another, although there are no clear ways to measure this intersection. International negotiations are obviously one trial table of these
trade-offs. Universities, with their broad responsibility in the creation and dissemination of knowledge and their exceptional position within society, have a crucial role
to play in the achievement of the SDGs and in understanding the complexity underling them, since they can help to demonstrate the university impact on society, shape
2 https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/04/education-systems-can-stifle-creative-thought-here-show-to-do-things-differently.