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C. R. M. de Lima et al.
of the term (Missimer et al. 2017a, b). However, the polysemy of the term ‘sustainability’ has caused the concept to be disregarded and makes it difficult to translate
debates into action (Bolis et al. 2014; Holden et al. 2014). According to Ramsey
(2015), Berchin et al. (2018), the concept of sustainability must be coherent and
applied in both theory and practice. Lukman and Glavic (2007) indicate that sustainability varies according to the specific needs and visions of a specific socio-politicaleconomic context, integrating environmental protection, economic performance and
social welfare, driven by political will, and ethical and ecological imperatives.
Promoting societal awareness regarding sustainability issues, as well as facilitating dialogue among academia, community, authorities and students, are important goals of HEIs and the international conferences promoted by them. Global
sustainability and sustainable development conferences have become worldwide
phenomena, and often enlist ever-broadening inter/multidisciplinary research to
address environmental challenges. These conferences can unite disciplines and global
universities under a common goal, and thus create space for new kinds of partnerships
within HEIs and broader networks (Berchin et al. 2018).
Universities must assist in the sustainability process in society, supporting the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Educational institutions
receive public and private investments and impact the cities where their units are
present. Therefore, it is essential that universities help the community around them,
even as a way of giving back to society what is invested in education and promoting
actions to reduce disparities in access.
This research aimed to analyze the significance of international conferences for
higher education institutions’ (HEIs) promotion of sustainability. The bibliometric
method was used, considering articles found in the Web of Science database related
to the subject of sustainable development in higher education from 2015 to 2019,
for detecting tendencies, possible paths and the research front about this field. The
main authors, concepts and theories identified in 648 articles related to this topic
were analyzed.
This article is structured into five parts. The introduction is followed by the second
part which contains a review of the literature on sustainable development in higher
education and bibliometric studies on the subject. In the third part, the methods used
are discussed, including data collection, sample research and analysis procedures. In
the fourth part, the results of the research are examined using techniques including the
analysis of Web of Science Core Collection and World Sustainability Symposium,
Bridge International Conference 2019. The conclusions are presented in the fifth and
final part.
C. R. M. de Lima et al.
of the term (Missimer et al. 2017a, b). However, the polysemy of the term ‘sustainability’ has caused the concept to be disregarded and makes it difficult to translate
debates into action (Bolis et al. 2014; Holden et al. 2014). According to Ramsey
(2015), Berchin et al. (2018), the concept of sustainability must be coherent and
applied in both theory and practice. Lukman and Glavic (2007) indicate that sustainability varies according to the specific needs and visions of a specific socio-politicaleconomic context, integrating environmental protection, economic performance and
social welfare, driven by political will, and ethical and ecological imperatives.
Promoting societal awareness regarding sustainability issues, as well as facilitating dialogue among academia, community, authorities and students, are important goals of HEIs and the international conferences promoted by them. Global
sustainability and sustainable development conferences have become worldwide
phenomena, and often enlist ever-broadening inter/multidisciplinary research to
address environmental challenges. These conferences can unite disciplines and global
universities under a common goal, and thus create space for new kinds of partnerships
within HEIs and broader networks (Berchin et al. 2018).
Universities must assist in the sustainability process in society, supporting the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Educational institutions
receive public and private investments and impact the cities where their units are
present. Therefore, it is essential that universities help the community around them,
even as a way of giving back to society what is invested in education and promoting
actions to reduce disparities in access.
This research aimed to analyze the significance of international conferences for
higher education institutions’ (HEIs) promotion of sustainability. The bibliometric
method was used, considering articles found in the Web of Science database related
to the subject of sustainable development in higher education from 2015 to 2019,
for detecting tendencies, possible paths and the research front about this field. The
main authors, concepts and theories identified in 648 articles related to this topic
were analyzed.
This article is structured into five parts. The introduction is followed by the second
part which contains a review of the literature on sustainable development in higher
education and bibliometric studies on the subject. In the third part, the methods used
are discussed, including data collection, sample research and analysis procedures. In
the fourth part, the results of the research are examined using techniques including the
analysis of Web of Science Core Collection and World Sustainability Symposium,
Bridge International Conference 2019. The conclusions are presented in the fifth and
final part.