Models for university sustainable development: Overview of international practices

Abstract

This study focuses on the components of university sustainable development in the way of achieving global competitiveness of the national higher education system. The coordinating role of the university in promoting the principles of sustainable development is due to both its transforming agency as a subject of economic relations and complex activities within the framework of the implementation of the “third mission” in the region. International experience in the development of sustainable development indicators is based on an integrative approach in which subsystems of indicators including economic, environmental, social and institutional ones are distinguished within the framework of a common system. These indicators form the basis of international university ranking systems. The purpose of this study is to analyze the models of sustainable development of participating universities out of the Top 500 global rankings by comparing and systematizing ESG components. The existing classification of sustainable development models is updated by the authors. The concept of “sustainability” is characterized, a description of typical models of sustainable development underlying the activities of Russian and foreign leading universities is presented