Education, Research, and Outreach on SDG 3, SDG 6, and SDG 13 for Future Sustainability

Despite decades of education for sustainable development worldwide, current achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) has been characterized as lethargic, uneven, and sporadic. The continuing global community transmission of Covid-19 pandemic and intensified geopolitical tension cast further uncertainty regarding the attainment of the UN SDG by 2030. In an environment of decreasing financial resources available to the low- and medium-income developing nations, attainment of the UN SDGs post Covid is in serious doubts. It is pertinent for universities working feverishly on the UN SDGs to reflect on their current progress and forecast future prognosis. This reflection will serve to provide a platform for future planning and implementation of sustainability programs on education, research, and outreach at the university and community levels and beyond. This reflection will focus on three related SDGs, namely, SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), and SDG 13 (climate action) in two Malaysian universities. These two universities are working in collaboration with the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR) and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). Current and future sustainability leaders would gain useful insights, develop global perspectives, and learn from local sustainability experiences from this review. Confronting severe financial constraints post Covid, universities should creatively adopt sustainability curriculum and actively develop sustainable resilience as a core value of their teaching, research, outreach, and operations.