Rector of Tec: Universities key to making progress on sustainability

After declaring that universities are key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Rector and President of Tec de Monterrey David Garza Salazar also pointed out that the solution for the world’s problems doesn’t depend upon a single person or organization.

He said this during the online “SDG Higher Education Leadership Panel” discussion, in which university leaders from Turkey, Canada, Rwanda, and Costa Rica also participated, at the University Global Coalition gathering. Garza said:

“Universities are key to the promotion and advancement of the SDGs and we have the responsibility to prepare students for current and future challenges and provide them with the necessary tools to have a positive impact on the world.”

These international university leaders spoke about educational innovation with regard to the SDGs set out by the United Nations (UN).

“Universities are key to the promotion and advancement of the SDGs and we have the responsibility to prepare students for current and future challenges and provide them with the necessary tools to have a positive impact on the world."

Higher education institutions driving force for change

According to David Garza, the Tec’s efforts since 2019 have increased through constant collaboration with other higher education institutions on the UN’s 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.

The rector highlighted how universities can act as catalysts for this movement through activities such as teaching, research, outreach, and impact on the different sectors of society.

“As universities, we have the responsibility to provide students with the necessary tools to have a positive impact on the world.”

His point was also backed up by Zeynep Gürhan, Director of Koc University in Turkey, and Suzanne Fortier of McGill University in Canada.

“This report shows how the Tec has impacted more than 250,000 people, with more than one million users benefitting in terms of educational material."

Garza also said that thanks to the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities like Tec de Monterrey have come to realize the need to not only think long-term, but also about the day-to-day.

“I think this new vision helps us as institutions. It motivates us, society, students, and communities,” said David Garza.

According to the Tec’s rector, making people aware of the projects and actions they’re working on is an essential point when it comes to the job of implementing the 2030 Agenda as an educational institution.

“When people weren’t so aware of what we were doing, we realized at the Tec that we were missing out on the possibility of synergy with others and thereby maximizing our impact,” he said.

Co-leading university efforts towards the 2030 Agenda

Sharing his experience with the panel, David Garza acknowledged that his initial distance from the topic of the SDGs five years ago motivated him to familiarize himself with them and to investigate what the Tec could do to help.

“I started to think not only about what the SDGs are, but also about what we’re already doing or what we can do to contribute to them as a university,” reflected the rector.

According to the Tec’s president, the sustainability movement inside the Tec’s educational space has come about organically thanks to the efforts of its community, highlighting the role of both students and faculty.

“The solution for these problems doesn’t depend upon a single person or organization and there is no one single way to deal with them."

However, he recalled that even though the sentiment towards these objectives was already there, it still needed to be framed under a set of common goals, as well as a shared methodology.

“As we were working on it, I realized how interesting and important this 2030 Agenda is, and I think it’s very well aligned with the challenges we’re facing here in Latin America,” said the rector.

For the Tec rector, issues affecting the region such as poverty, hunger, and unemployment are problems that must be worked on collaboratively.

“The solution for these problems doesn’t depend upon a single person or organization and there is no one single way to deal with them. It’s a multi-sector solution,” he stressed about the Tec’s approach to the SDG agenda.

Tec de Monterrey seeking to generate impact now and in the future

According to Garza, at least 20% of the courses currently offered by the Tec contain content associated with the Sustainable Development Goals.

“The question now is not, ‘How are we doing?’ but, ‘How are we going to do in the future?’ and ‘How can we have greater impact?’” asked the rector.

For Garza, one of the changes at Tec that has had the most positive impact in terms of the SDGs is the preparation of an internal report focused on quantifying the level of sustainable impact on the community.

The Sustainable Development Initiatives Report was created with the vision of measuring the impact the university has on all its campuses through more than 800 SDG-related initiatives.

“This report enables us to see how the Tec has impacted more than 250,000 people, with more than one million users benefiting in terms of educational material, and this helps us think about what other types of initiatives we can develop,” he said.

“The question now is not, ‘How are we doing?’ but, ‘How are we going to do in the future?’ and ‘How can we have greater impact?’”

Through this report, Tec de Monterrey has been able to create a forward-looking strategy for its operations, this being the 2025 Sustainability and Climate Change Plan, now known as Ruta Azul (Blue Route).

The Tec’s president said that these types of strategies have not only helped to improve the institution’s impact in the country and region but have also been instrumental in coordinating the Tec’s efforts with partners from other sectors.

“I invite universities interested in working with the SDGs to find out what their community is doing about them so that you can continue to support them,” encouraged the rector in conclusion.

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