On 9 July 2026, the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) Global Forum 2026 gathered university leaders, students and higher education partners online. Under the theme Reimagining Higher Education for Global Transformation toward a Sustainable Future, the forum explored the potential of higher education in addressing global challenges, driving systemic change and advancing sustainable development.
In opening remarks, Shinobu Yume Yamaguchi (Director, UNU-IAS) underlined the need to reimagine current models of education to accelerate progress on the SDGs. Prof. Yamaguchi highlighted the global network of Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (RCE) and the Promotion of Sustainability in Postgraduate Education and Research Network (ProSPER.Net) as examples of cross-sector partnerships helping to achieve the SDGs.
The forum featured sessions focused on how higher education institutions (HEIs) can deliver on their sustainability commitments through operational transformation in research, teaching and learning, and community engagement; and how to better connect higher education research with policy and practice. Other sessions addressed higher education partnership models to deliver results for the SDGs; and strengthening the strategic contribution of higher education to sustainable development, towards and beyond 2030.
Jonghwi Park (Academic Programme Officer and Head of Innovation and Education, UNU-IAS) moderated the session Universities as Knowledge Producers and Co-creators: Connecting Research, Policy and Practice. Speakers discussed how universities could uphold academic freedom, co-create knowledge with society and ensure that research and innovation remain accessible, inclusive and useful for sustainable development. Respondents from HESI Action Groups highlighted approaches to make knowledge, research and innovation more accessible, inclusive and useful for sustainable development work. Doug Specht (Futures of Higher Education and AI Action Group) stressed the need for AI adoption in universities to include robust data infrastructures, internal AI governance and tiered AI literacy for university leaders, staff and students. Ratna Lindawati Lubis (SDG Publishers Compact Action Group) highlighted using AI to overcome language barriers, making academic language easier to understand and mainstreaming sustainability content into core learning materials.
The 2026 HESI Global Forum was a special event of the 2026 UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). It was organized by the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative, which is currently chaired by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), UNU, the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education (IESALC) and the Sulitest Association.
