Prof. Raghu Raman, Dean, Amrita School of Business (Amritapuri & Kochi) and Amaravati Campus and Director, Amrita Center for Accreditations, Rankings & Eminence (Amrita CARE) and Prof. Vinith Kumar Nair, Associate Director, Amrita CARE and Professor, Amrita School of Business, Amritapuri represented Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham at Higher Education Planning in Asia Forum (HEPA) 2023 from 13th to 14th April 2023. The University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia hosted the tenth HEPA Forum, and the theme of the 2023 Forum was “Planning for a Sustainable Future.” The forum explored how universities contribute to a sustainable future and, in doing so, how they apply sustainable development ideas in their own strategic and operational planning.
The two-day event included a keynote presentation, a panel discussion, and many interactive sessions. The forum had broad and diverse representation, with senior institutional planners and administrators from Australia, Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Prof. Raghu Raman & Prof Vinith Nair presented “University Performance in Sustainability Rankings- Contribution of Asian Universities during the panel discussion on Sustainable Development: Challenges and Opportunities. Session Chair Mr. Omer Yezdani, Chief Data Officer, UniSC, Australia, moderated the session. The other speakers of the panel were Ms. Fiona Sutherland, Deputy Director of Government and Policy, Office of the Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Canberra, Australia, and Ms.Laura Tucker, CEO, hivve, United Kingdom.

Mr. Omer Yezdani, Chief Data Officer, UniSC, Australia, moderating the session.

This talk by Ms. Fiona explored the current movement around ‘civic universities,’ ‘anchor institutions, and ‘place-based’ identities. She discussed how Australian universities are considering ‘placed-based’ approaches and a new Government requirement around civic responsibility. Further, she threw light on the latest University of Canberra decadal strategy Connected.

Ms. Fiona Sutherland presenting on Civic Universities – ‘Placed Based’ Connection for a Sustainable Future.

The presentation of Ms. Laura Tucker examined best practices in mapping research impact to sustainability indicators, such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and looks at how institutions around the world are taking advantage of advances in technology and process to incorporate planning for impact into their day-to-day activities and broader strategies.

Ms. Laura Tucker, CEO, hivve, United Kingdom, presenting on Research Impact and Sustainability: Moving from Compliance to Performance

The presentation of Prof. Raghu & Prof. Vinith highlighted an increase in participation of Asian universities (44 + % of the total universities). The highest participation is noted from Japan, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Thailand, Indonesia, Iraq, and Iran. These countries have improved country score and rank in SDG Index over the years. Japan has the highest number of participating universities & highest country rank in the SDG Index, followed by Turkey. The highest number of publications of the top 5 world universities in sustainability rankings are in SDG 3, SDG 7, and SDG 13. The highest number of publications of the top 5 Asian Universities are in SDG 3, SDG 7, SDG 11, and SDG 13. The major insight of the presentation was that more research is needed in SDG 3, and a research output gap can be observed in SDG 1 & SDG 5.

Prof. Vinith Kumar Nair participating in panel discussion

SDG country-wise world ranking and score

Research Gap of top Asian Universities in sustainability research