Abstract:

The year 2015 marked a significant milestone as the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda, aimed at addressing global challenges through 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Recognizing universities' pivotal role, this study explores efforts by the Educational Innovation and Enhancement Project at the Higher Technical School of Industrial Engineering (ETSII) within Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain. Initiated in 2022, the project seeks to embed the SDGs across all the degree programs at ETSII.

This study aims to explore the perception of faculty members regarding the integration of SDGs into the curriculum of undergraduate programs at ETSII. To this end, surveys were conducted among ETSII faculty members to assess their perception of the relationship between the subjects they teach and the SDGs. The survey included questions that evaluated the extent to which SDGs are incorporated into their course content, with response options ranging from "Not at all" to "A lot."

The results of the survey suggest that the most promising areas for SDG integration in undergraduate ETSII subjects are sustainability in production and consumption (SDG12), access to energy (SDG7), clean water and sanitation (SDG6) and life on land (SDG15). The least addressed areas include ending hunger (SDG2) and marine resource conservation (SDG14).

The undergraduate program, with the highest number of subjects where the SDGs are perceived as "quite a bit" or "a lot" relevant, is the Bachelor's in Industrial Technologies Engineering (GITI) with 77 subjects, and the Bachelor's in Industrial Engineering (GIE) with 58 subjects. Both undergraduate programs have 10 subjects where three or more SDGs are quite or very relevant. Specifically, GIE leads in integrating SDG7 with 10 subjects, and GITI is prominent in integrating SDG9 with 9 subjects.

The findings underscore the varying degrees of SDG integration across different undergraduate programs and subjects at ETSII, highlighting both strengths and areas for improvement. These insights can guide curriculum development and policy-making to enhance the alignment of academic offerings with global sustainability goals.

Keywords:

Sustainable Development Goals, Higher Education, Undergraduate, Engineering Curriculum, Integration, Industrial Engineering.