Higher education and the Sustainable Development Goals

This special issue of Higher Education focuses on higher education and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 17 SDGs adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015 cover a broad range of issues related to socio-economic, environmental and technological development, and apply to all of the world’s countries, and not only those normally considered to be ‘developing’ or ‘emerging’. As part of its broad remit, the SDGs expanded the focus beyond primary and secondary education to include tertiary education. This was an important move as higher education was missing from the international development agenda as evidenced by previous sets of development goals—the Millennium Development Goals and Education for All.