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The fact that the world community is engaged in pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) means that an unrivalled opportunity is provided to universities, both in respect of teaching and in research, on individual SDGs, as well as in pursuing their "third mission" linking up with external stakeholders and society. However, not many universities have realised that and many are falling behind. This paper explores the many advantages of the introduction of the SDGs into teaching and suggests that it can catalyse the engagement of students in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) with the concepts of sustainability. The paper fills in a research gap by surveying the current state of the art regarding the theme, presenting current data outlining the extent to which HEI are using SDGs to support their sustainability work. The reasons why some institutions are currently not engaging is also shown. The paper, which consists of a worldwide survey deployed to collect data on the SDGs and sustainability teaching at universities, concludes by providing some recommendations aimed at encouraging further engagement of HEI in incorporatingSDGs as part of their teaching programs. This research is unique in the sense that it provides for the first time offers an overview of the level of emphasis selected universities currently place on the SDGs. Finally, it provides a contribution to current state of knowledge by outlining some actions universities may take, to move forward with their implementation. This paper was prepared by a team of the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme with national funds through FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology in the scope of the project UID/GES/04630/2013. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

Higher education institutions across the world are increasingly placing an emphasis on students' acquisition of a broader range of skills or attributes within the taught curriculum, which should lead to a widening of their chances of academic success, in particular in the employment market. Among other issues, matters related to sustainable development are playing a key role, but many universities do not yet cater for integrative approaches, which may help them to approach sustainability issues in a transformative way. It is therefore necessary to develop new approaches and methods, which may address this gap. Based on the importance of meeting this perceived research need, this paper defines the role of project-oriented learning, also designated as Project Based Learning, as a tool to support integrative approaches to sustainability in a higher education context. The scientific value of the paper lies in the provision of some examples of successful approaches to Project Based Learning and the identification of some of the trends that characterise it. The paper makes clear why project-oriented learning should be more widely used in support of integrative approaches to sustainability, and why it needs to become part of the routine of higher education institutions. The outline of some of the initiatives recently and currently being undertaken may inspire others and assist in the implementation of Project Based Learning.

Energy saving on campus is an increasingly important part of universities' responses to climate change, but can only be fully realised through a partnership between institutions and students. This study explores similarities and differences between students' energy-related attitudes and reported behaviours, as well as their perceptions of their institution's energy saving efforts using data from two universities in the United Kingdom (UK) and one in Portugal. The results indicate that there are differences between the students' responses at the selected universities which appear to reflect the national context and diverse institutional priorities. Key differences include the variation between students' perceptions of individual agency and their university's environmental practices (stronger in the UK) and students' sense of collective agency and trust in the government and business (stronger in Portugal). The study is the first to attempt a comparison between students from institutions in different countries in relation to energy saving. It provides a foundation to extend the comparison to other institutions and other countries, and to expand the research to encompass actual energy use, in relation to perceived energy use.