Contact person: Thomas Völker, Centre for the study of the sciences and humanities (SVT), UiB

Type of event: Digital event ONLY

The 2030 Agenda calls for social, economic and political transformations. To this end the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were introduced, providing targets to achieve these transformations. Universities are regarded as key actors in achieving the goals set out by this agenda.

The underlying premise is that universities themselves need to transform to be able to better contribute to achieving the SDGs. Normative ideas about a re-ordering of science-society relations or a new contract between science and society are thus a central part of these debates.

This poses several questions: How can universities contribute to achieving the SDGs? What kind of knowledge is needed? Whose knowledge is needed? In addition, more fundamental issues are at stake: how does working towards the SDGs relate to (often idealized) ideas of an autonomy of science? Should universities operate according to a logic of discovery or a logic of delivery? How could a “new" contract between science and society look like?

These questions will be discussed by the co-chairs and members of the UNESCO Global Independent Expert Group on the Universities and the 2030 Agenda (EGU2030):
- Dag Olav Hessen (University of Oslo)
- Sylvia Schmelkes (Universidad Iberoamericana)
- Adrian Parr (University of Texas/University of Oregon)
- Tristan McCowan (University College London)

This event is relevant for:
- SDG 4: Quality Education
- SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals