Transforming Knowledge and Research for Just and Sustainable Futures: Implications for Higher Education Policy and Practice

Abstract

The article starts by making a case as to why it is necessary to transform knowledge and research. It is argued that transformation is essential for epistemic justice and to tackle the complex problems of unsustainable development. Higher education (HE) has a crucial role given its pivotal position in knowledge generation, circulation and governance processes. However, the HE sector must be transformed to play such a role. The article argues that the current neoliberal social imaginary based on markets and competition is antithetical to the required transformations. Instead, a new social imaginary based on Mbembe’s idea of a new planetary consciousness is suggested to provide a more robust vision to base reform. The article discusses priorities for transforming teaching, research, global and civic engagement and how universities are governed. The article concludes by arguing that transformation must be considered holistically across these areas and that governments, civil society and multilateral organizations, such as UNESCO, also have a critical role in transforming the broader knowledge ecosystem HE currently operates.