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Using sustainability to impact student choice
10 December 2025
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Using sustainability to impact student choice
Summary:
- Interdisciplinary skills and student-led innovation are essential for driving sustainability in higher education. Initiatives like ASU’s Next Lab and global programmes such as Future17 empower students to collaborate across disciplines and lead real-world projects, fostering creativity and practical problem-solving.
- Embedding sustainability across university curricula and leveraging industry partnerships—through living labs and collaborative research—ensures that students gain relevant, actionable skills while addressing pressing societal and environmental challenges.
- Genuine student leadership and global collaboration are transformative forces, enabling universities to maintain credibility, adapt to changing expectations, and maximise their impact on sustainability through both hard skill development and policy innovation.
A panel on sustainability and student choice brought together global leaders in higher education to discuss how universities can maintain credibility and leadership in sustainability, especially as student expectations intensify and societal pressures threaten progress. The discussion centered on the critical role of skills development and innovation in driving sustainable impact across institutions.
Our speakers:
- Beth Kennedy, Editor, The PIE (Moderator)
- Prof Meiram Begentayev, Chair of the Board and Rector, Satbayev University
- Alex Berka, Insights Manager, QS
- Per Mickwitz, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Sustainability and Campus Development, Lund University
- Dan Munnerley, Founder and Executive Director of Next Lab, Arizona State University
Interdisciplinary skills and student-led innovation
A recurring theme was the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and student-led initiatives. Dan Munnerley from Arizona State University (ASU) described the university’s “Next Lab,” which hires students from diverse backgrounds—K-12, undergraduate, graduate, and seniors—to address ethical technologies and sustainability challenges. This lab fosters innovation by grouping students into “guilds” where they learn and apply skills across disciplines, breaking traditional academic silos. Such models empower students to lead real-world projects, like creating digital twins of water systems using live Internet of Things data, which are now used for research and simulation.
Embedding sustainability across curriculum
Panelists emphasised the need to integrate sustainability into core university activities—education and research. Per Mickwitz from Lund University highlighted that every undergraduate at ASU is now required to take a sustainability class, embedding principles into the learning framework. This “quiet leadership” ensures that sustainability is not just a visible effort, but a deeply rooted value in the institution’s culture.
Industry partnerships and living labs
Innovation thrives through partnerships with industry and the creation of “living labs.” ASU’s approach involves collaboration with water companies and industry partners to tackle challenges like water usage in Arizona. These living labs are student-led, supported by academics, and funded by industry, allowing students to work on impactful projects that address real community needs. The panel noted that such partnerships are essential for scaling innovation and ensuring that skills learned are directly applicable to pressing sustainability issues.
Global collaboration and policy solutions
The panel discussed the power of global collaboration through initiatives like Future17, a consortium co-founded by QS and the University of Exeter. This programme enables students to work on global challenges set by industry partners, fostering cross-institutional and cross-sector innovation. The combination of hard skill challenges, such as developing solar-powered AI tools, and policy solutions was highlighted as a game-changer for sustainability education.
Student voice and leadership
A key takeaway was the transformative impact of genuine student leadership. Panellists agreed that student-led projects, where students advocate and lead initiatives, are unstoppable forces in education. Institutions must create environments where student voices drive sustainability agendas, influencing both senior leadership and the wider university community.
Embedding sustainability across curricula
The panel underscored that the future of sustainability in higher education depends on fostering interdisciplinary skills, embedding sustainability across curricula, leveraging industry partnerships, and empowering student-led innovation. Universities that prioritise these strategies will not only meet student expectations but also lead the way in global sustainability impact.
