Higher Education, the world over, is currently facing countless challenges. This has pushed universities towards urgently needed transformations to facilitate the adaptation with the surrounding circumstances. Based on its firm belief in the important role of universities in supporting communities and disseminating the culture of sustainability, Beirut Arab University (BAU) seeks to be one of the leading universities responsible for the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Since 2018, the International Association of Universities (IAU) has entrusted BAU to address the targets of SDG9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. With the beginning of the new millennium, BAU strove to become a major beacon of sustainability in Lebanon through expanding its campuses, widening the green areas, reducing the emission of CO2, as well as amalgamating the culture of SDGs in the intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of various curricula and programs. Beirut Arab University, thus, endevours to make a valuable contribution by promoting this goal through teaching, research, and community engagement, while creating a sustainable learning environment. We have a great hope that our involvement in the realization of the SDG 9 targets may fill certain gaps in the Lebanese community on the industrial scale through new innovative initiatives, start-ups, and solutions for the disrupted infrastructure.  

PROF. Amr Galal Al-Adawi
President of Beirut Arab University, Lebanon

  Since the announcement of its participation in the Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD) in 2018 and becoming the SDG 9 leading institution, BAU has set a strategic plan based on four pillars: Education, Research, Operations & Governance, and External Leadership. Thus, from day one, we formed a committee to organise the implementation of this strategic plan according to the following steps:

• Mapping Curricula of the faculties with SDG 9
• Mapping the research achievements throughout the last four years with targets and indicators of SDG 9. These achievements cover research projects & initiatives, published papers, organising or particpating in conferences and workshops, and patents;
• Mapping BAU facilities with SDG 9
• Aligining the operational and governance sectors of BAU with the flow of actions related to SDG 9
• Stengthing the role of the public engagment of multi-stakeholders through holding workshops and open discussions
• Recalling our satellite universities, such as ‘Assam Don Bosco University’, to find multidiscipliary approaches to work on SDG 9

We believe that the future well-being of humanity can depend on our current faithful intentions. A micro-tiny action can change the future of people. Our present endevor is to support the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through a tangible institutional collaboration trying effectively to embed the sustainable development concepts in an organised framework, based on the four mentioned pillars.  

Prof. Ibtihal Y. El-Bastawissi
BAU Representative in HESD
Dean, Faculty of Architecture, Design and Built Environment, Beirut Arab University, Lebanon