The Faculty of Economics of the Universitat de València hosts the 4th International Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education (CISMES26), inaugurated today, 14 July, and that will last until tomorrow, day 15. The objective of this event is to promote the exchange of knowledge, strategic alliances, and good practices of sustainability in the university field.
The opening session was attended by Francisco Muñoz Murgui–dean of the Faculty of Economics of the UV–, Alfredo Juan Grau–professor of the Faculty of Economics and president of the CISMES–, Andreea Hancu Budu–professor of the Faculty of Economics and member of the organising committee of the CISMES–, and Sergio Belda Miquel–representative of the Principal of the UV for sustainability and professor of the Faculty of Social Sciences. In the organisation, the research group EFICO and the consolidated group of innovation GINFICO have also participated. Both of them belong to the UV.
The slogan of this fourth edition is “Doing research, innovating and transferring – University under the challenge of sustainability”. In this framework, the academic, research and professional community is invited to participate actively in a space of dialogue, collaboration and innovation; a space in which university, the production sector, public administrations and civil society converge in order to make progress towards a more sustainable development model. Moreover, the conference intends to reinforce its international dimension through a scientific committee integrated by a group of experts from different universities and research centres.
The conference is part of a context in which the continuous social and economic transformations –along with resources that are every time more limited– indicate the necessity of adapting business models to align them with a balanced, inclusive and respectful development with the planet. As a response to these challenges, the United Nations promoted the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
In this context, the key role of the university system is emphasised at the CISMES26 to create professionals capable of leading the change towards a sustainable future. In addition, the Universitat de València boosts training, research and transfer initiatives linked to the SDG through the Vice-rector for Sustainability, Cooperation, and Healthy Living.
The research, the teaching innovation, and the transfer of knowledge are the fundamental pillars of the event. In this sense, the sessions try to analyse how universities can strengthen their collaboration with the production sector, the communities and the public administrations to develop and implement sustainable initiatives. In the congress, the strategic role of artificial intelligence is also underlined as a tool to benefit innovation and creation of new opportunities of collaboration.
The fourth edition of the CISMES gives continuity to a journey of commitment to sustainability, shared with the research groups EFICO and GINFICO, along with the European School of Sustainability Science and Research and the Center of Economics and Finance (CEF.UP). Every year there are more people interested in taking part and the number of international participants has increased. The total lectures rise to 120, a 50 % more than last year, and the total number of signing authors is 402, a 40.07 % more than last edition. This way, the congress is consolidated as a reference forum for the exchange of knowledge, experiences and good practices of sustainability within the university field.
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