global
A group of global experts on higher education recently met to explore strategies for equitable collaboration between high-, low-, and middle-income countries toward a sustainable energy future. They also discussed partnership models and funding for research and education.
A roundtable discussion “Equitable North-South Partnership in Sustainable Energy Research, Innovation and Higher Education” was held on November 19th at the just concluded 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention (COP29). About climate change, or the UNFCCC.
Professor Anders Hamer Stroman, Deputy Dean of Sustainability at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said in his opening remarks that while the disparity in climate financing between developing and developed countries is at the heart of COP29, He pointed out that this is an important part of COP29. A broader challenge was the difference in levels of research and education between the global North and South.
“Universities around the world have played a critical role in enabling our societies to gain the knowledge and capacity needed to clearly understand, adapt to and mitigate climate change.” said.
“Higher education is a key enabler of innovation and progress in all fields, from the engineering sciences to the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, and is a key enabler of innovation and progress facing us in the transition to a sustainable society. We need to combine all of these to meet the complex challenges of our global society.
“Building capacity to respond to further increases in enrollment rates is also related to research activities.The essence of a university is to provide research-based education. “That means we need to improve so that we can advance education and inform policy makers,” he said.
UNESCO estimates that approximately 260 million students are enrolled in higher education, and that between 2000 and 2022, the proportion of the world’s young people pursuing higher education will increase from 20% to 20%. increased to 40%.
Regional differences
In Europe and North America, more than 80% of young people pursue further education after high school. At the same time, on average across Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia, and Southeast Asia, the same figure ranges from 55% to 60%.
In West Africa, the average is around 50%, but in Central and South Asia it declines towards 30%. However, only about 10% of young people in sub-Saharan Africa have access to higher education.
Significant regional differences are also evident in the share of research in GDP. According to UNESCO, North America and Europe allocate on average about 2.5% to research. At the same time, many middle-income regions allocate only 0.5% of their GDP to research, and some low-income countries only half that amount.
“These low numbers will challenge the long-term development of the knowledge, capacity and innovation needed to ensure a successful transition to sustainable economies in all regions,” Stroman said. said.
“The broader question is therefore how can the education sector better work together across high-income, middle-income and low-income countries? This includes education, education of educators, and even This includes how to follow up on opportunities for direct collaboration in research collaborations.”
south-south cooperation
During the session, Professor Andrea Santos, Associate Professor at the University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, argued that universities can help establish partnerships to bridge gaps in research and development and foster capacity building and scaling up of solutions. green economy.
“The University of Rio de Janeiro has 13 engineering programs, in addition to which there are more than 100 facilities that support research and learning, including laboratories. However, there are still several challenges to strengthen South-South cooperation. I am facing it,” she said.
“In terms of student mobility, there is more cooperation with the developed countries of the Global North. We are also working with China and India, but with Indonesia, for example, there are more synergies, especially with regard to forestry. There is no agreement or cooperation.
“We believe that Brazil has many positive experiences in education and research, but since the COVID-19 pandemic we have faced challenges. The numbers and indicators show that many students We are currently trying to attract more students to participate in research because we are moving to developing countries. So we are raising more funds and working closer with industry. We need to work together to strengthen capacity building and research and development,” she said.
Dr. Subodh Dhakal, associate professor and head of the geology department at Nepal’s Tribhuvan University, said limited funding and lack of collaborative research opportunities are major challenges for emerging scientists, especially in climate science.
“Climate science has made great progress in recent years. Perhaps this is due to innovation and technology. Nepal has very limited universities and the allocation for research can reach 0.01% (of GDP). This is influencing young people to become passionate about climate research and innovation.
“Opportunities are very limited and the connections between the Global South and the Global North can provide great opportunities for young and mid-career scientists,” he said.
Cities as innovation hubs
Lee Renalder, UN-Habitat Associate Program Manager, highlighted the existence of data and knowledge gaps at the city level and called for more funding for universities to enable further research and innovation. .
“It is important to think about the role that cities can play as hubs for research and academia, as well as innovation and knowledge. Most universities are based in cities, but they also experience major shortfalls in terms of just transition and energy transition. are.
“From my work I find that there is interest at a local level for certain technologies, but the skills don’t exist. A very practical example is heat pumps. There is government support for heat pumps, but there is “We don’t have the skills to do this at the local level. There is a huge opportunity not only for reskilling, but also for capacity building that universities and other research centers can leverage,” she said.
One of UN-Habitat’s main focuses is a network of 9,000 universities and knowledge hubs designed to foster knowledge exchange and collaboration between universities and between urban practitioners and academia.
Looking ahead, Renalder said the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s upcoming special report on climate change and cities will be a collaborative effort bringing together global institutions, academia, urban practitioners and policy makers. He said it is one of the tasks.
“The IPCC report is designed to ensure that it is actually actionable and actionable, and the type of research that is needed to address the kind of climate emergency that our cities are currently facing. So, most importantly, we have made sure that there is an interconnection between academia and practitioners, and that the research and knowledge that comes from it is implementable. Ta.
“We have primarily done this through the Innovation for Cities conference held in Montreal two months ago, which was sponsored by the World Mayors Covenant and UN-Habitat and brought together academics, researchers and innovators. It aimed to bring together , urban practitioners, and policy makers “to identify gaps in knowledge and identify the types of collaboration needed to make better decisions at local and national levels.” ” said Renalder.
