Why are universities still failing to fully realize their potential in addressing global crises?

The role of universities in addressing global challenges spans multiple dimensions.‍‍‍‍

Image source:Unsplash/Xavier Coiffic

Mirielle Eaton

Head of the World Economic Forum Knowledge Community

Lindsay Hooper

CEO of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership

Universities play a critical role in addressing global sustainability challenges through research, education, and innovation—but their transformative potential remains largely untapped.
By fostering more strategic collaborations—both among themselves and with external stakeholders—universities can amplify their impact and scale up the deployment of sustainable solutions.
To achieve sustainable outcomes, universities must overcome significant obstacles and establish clear conditions for success.

Earth's resources are finite, and the environment continues to degrade, leaving the world grappling with a series of interconnected sustainability crises. In this context, countries must not only pursue sustainable prosperity but also strengthen their resilience for long-term development.

Universities can play a vital role in addressing these challenges from multiple angles. Through groundbreaking research, they delve into the root causes of climate challenges and propose the most promising solutions—while also nurturing the next generation of leaders for today and tomorrow.

Additionally, the university is also innovating new technologies and developing business and decision-support tools to help address these challenges.

However, despite their growing influence, universities still fail to fully leverage their knowledge, capabilities, and innovative ecosystems in supporting society’s large-scale response to the global sustainability crisis.

Expanding and fostering more strategic collaborations among universities—and pursuing bolder, more efficient partnerships with external stakeholders—can enhance the effectiveness of collective efforts, ensuring that economic development ultimately benefits humanity, nature, and the climate. Yet, such collaboration is no easy feat.

Challenges in Collaboration

Competition over limited funding, academic incentive structures, and career development pathways don't always foster collaboration—either within or beyond the academic community.

Speaking about collaboration with external partners, Imperial College London President Hugh Brady believes that part of the issue lies in the university's "showcase"—its public image. External stakeholders often lack a clear understanding of the university's capabilities, which can make it challenging for them to figure out how to engage with such a decentralized and complex institution.

Not only that, but building effective international alliances seems increasingly difficult, making it even harder to drive significant progress.

Increasing political polarization in global challenges, stricter scrutiny of funding sources, rising national protectionism over intellectual property and technology, and a lack of long-term government investment in research, innovation, and education—all pose significant obstacles.

However, despite the challenges, innovative approaches can make a significant impact.

Promoting New Structures and New Collaborations

Both intra-university and inter-university collaboration are crucial, as they allow institutions to combine their respective strengths and collectively create meaningful, large-scale impact.

Imperial College London has addressed the challenges external partners face in understanding the university's capabilities by establishing four new, interdisciplinary "Cross-School Institutes."

These colleges have transcended traditional departmental boundaries, fostering a larger community of researchers focused on strategic areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), medical technologies, and climate science.

Following the landmark decision at the 2024 United Nations Climate Conference (COP29) on a new collective quantified goal, scholars from the University of Pennsylvania have launched a new interdisciplinary collaboration to explore the future of climate finance.

This collaboration brings together finance, geopolitics, equity law, and other disciplines, engaging practitioners to generate innovative ideas that will help the world achieve its climate finance goals.

Cambridge University collaborates with other universities to advance the most promising policy solutions, while also actively harnessing the innovative potential inherent in its role as a leading academic institution.

For instance, Cambridge is collaborating with the London School of Economics and Political Science to explore net-zero pathways for achieving economic growth and prosperity, while partnering with the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa to bring together leading businesses that can contribute valuable insights into public policy. Additionally, Cambridge is working with the University of Manchester to develop a UK-wide innovation cluster, fostering the growth of university-based spin-off companies, attracting investment, and driving inclusive economic development across the country.

Unlocking impact through partnerships

To achieve real change, partnerships are essential.

More and more people are recognizing that addressing global challenges requires ambitious action and the development of effective national, regional, and local strategies.

For example, the Nanyang Technological University Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Southeast Asia (INSPIRASI), a collaboration between Indonesia and Singapore, brings together the Indonesian Endowment Fund, the Indonesian Ministry of Higher Education, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) from Singapore, and four Indonesian universities. It also involves researchers, students, and industry partners from both sides, focusing specifically on climate change mitigation and sustainable development challenges in Southeast Asia’s tropical climate.

INSPIRASI has also promoted initiatives like the Renewable Energy Living Lab, bridging the gap between academic research and industrial applications.

Local collaboration further highlights the power of stakeholder partnerships. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology’s partnership with Saudi Electricity Company has advanced carbon capture technologies tailored to emissions and environmental conditions at Saudi power plants.

This collaboration ultimately led to the successful deployment of a carbon capture system at the Rabigh Energy Production Plant, supporting Saudi Arabia’s transition to a low-carbon economy and its goal of achieving net-zero emissions.

Similarly, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative stands as a prime example of academic-practice collaboration, driving interdisciplinary research and partnering with 10 leading international conservation organizations to catalyze a transformative shift in biodiversity protection.

Some of the project team's specific achievements include helping UBS develop a biodiversity strategy and managing a large-scale project aimed at restoring landscapes and seascapes across Europe.

The essential conditions for success

Although there are already numerous examples around the globe, more models are urgently needed—after all, climate change and the accelerating pace of the natural crisis are outstripping the speed at which solutions can be implemented.

Universities can play a pivotal role in this process, but their full potential can only be realized through collaboration. Governments can provide funding and introduce favorable policies to foster innovation, while businesses and philanthropists can contribute resources, guiding academia toward addressing real-world needs.

A forum that brings together academia, the public and private sectors, and civil society is essential for fostering dialogue, identifying gaps, and building trust—each of which is critical to effective collaboration.

The World Economic Forum pioneered the "4P" partnership model, fostering large-scale collaboration among university professors, the public sector, the private sector, and philanthropic organizations.

During New York Climate Week, Columbia's School on the Environment joined forces with the Forum’s GAEA (Good Capital for Earth Action) initiative to host a conference highlighting the critical role of academia in delivering transparency, risk assessment, research, and technical expertise—essential steps to move solutions from concept to implementation.

One example is the Aviation Impact Accelerator, a collaborative initiative involving researchers, modelers, industry leaders, government agencies, and philanthropic organizations, all working together to advance sustainable aviation development.

Its report, "Five Years to Chart a New Future for Aviation," has already begun influencing government policies, industry research, and investment strategies—and is poised to be applied across sectors like food, land use, and infrastructure.

As sustainability challenges grow, universities must deliver solutions through strategic partnerships. By fostering creative and innovative ideas—and expanding their practical applications—academia and its collaborators can drive transformative change in the current landscape. Now is the time to act, as the potential rewards will be immeasurable.

The above content represents the author's personal views only.This article is translated from the World Economic Forum's Agenda blog; the Chinese version is for reference purposes only.Feel free to share this to your—please leave a comment at the end of the post or on our official if you’d like to republish.

Translated by: Sun Qian | Edited by: Wang Can

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