On 5 June 2025, the Promotion of Sustainability in Postgraduate Education and Research (ProSPER.Net) Sustainability Forum was held on the theme “EcoSmart Universities: Pioneering Sustainability for Future Generations.” Commemorating World Environment Day, the online event highlighted the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in advancing sustainability and their potential to serve as key drivers of change through their operations, curricula and research.
Deepak Sharma (Professor, Asia Institute of Technology; Board Chair, ProSPER.Net) delivered opening remarks and Usha Iyer-Raniga (Professor of Sustainable Built Environment, RMIT University) moderated the session and introduced the ProSPER.Net the ProSPER.Net Expert Advisory Panel (EAP) on Circular Economy. Scholars, sustainability practitioners and institutional representatives from the ProSPER.Net network shared best practices on greening campuses, implementing circular economy approaches and promoting environmental consciousness in academic communities. Speakers from ProSPER.Net member HEIs discussed sustainability initiatives aimed at encouraging students and staff to take action, and how HEIs can work together to shape policies to advance sustainability.
A panel discussion moderated by Prof. Iyer-Raniga explored how universities can successfully embed sustainability in their work. Panelists shared creative ways to include circular economy concepts in teaching, research and campus activities. Anupam Khajuria (Research Fellow and Academic Associate, UNU-IAS) shared innovative approaches for HEIs to drive meaningful change through cross-disciplinary teaching, collaborative research on circular solutions and making campus operations more sustainable. The impact of sustainability rankings on universities was also discussed, as well as how campus communities have responded to green initiatives and why broad participation is considered important for achieving sustainability goals.
The forum was co-organized by UNU-IAS, the ProSPER.Net Expert Advisory Panel (EAP) on Circular Economy and the Centre for Environmental Sustainability at the University of Peradeniya. Supporting institutions included ProSPER.Net members Arabaev Kyrgyz State University, Ateneo Institute of Sustainability, Institut Teknologi Bandung, RMIT University and the University of Nottingham Malaysia.
More information, including the summary and a recording of the event, is available on the ProSPER.Net website.
