Disciplines, professions and the sustainable development goals (SDGs): Challenges in higher education in india

Abstract

Dr Rajesh Tandon and Pooja Pandey look at how Indian higher education institutions are engaging with the 2030 Agenda. India's scale of poverty, hunger, health and gender gaps makes this urgent, yet SDG integration remains largely absent from national policy and from bodies like AIU and FICCI, even as new UGC guidelines on social responsibility begin to open some space. Institutional examples from forest management education in Bhopal, climate resilience planning in Wayanad, and SDG teaching among engineering students at DTU show faculty-driven innovation that stays ad hoc rather than systemic. Rigid disciplinary and professional education frameworks emerge as the main obstacle to multi-disciplinary SDG work. The paper closes with recommendations for HEI leadership, regulatory councils, and civil society to push SDGs into the core teaching and research functions of Indian institutions.