Higher Education and Sustainable Development in the Arab Gulf States

This edited volume critically examines the role of higher education institutions in the Arab Gulf States in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the context of the region’s distinctive resource dependence, environmental vulnerability, and rapid socio-economic transformation. Drawing on original empirical research from across the region, the book analyses how universities are supporting sustainable development through teaching, research, and institutional governance. By combining system-level perspectives with institutional case studies, the volume offers insights into how sustainable development is being interpreted, implemented, and institutionalized within the region’s higher education systems and institutions. The book makes a distinctive contribution by focusing on the Arab Gulf as a highly developed yet under-researched region of the Global South, where universities operate within ambitious state-led sustainability frameworks and post-oil development transitions. Through detailed case studies, the chapters highlight innovative pedagogical and institutional approaches, including project-based learning, living laboratories, and interdisciplinary research collaborations that support progress toward the SDGs. The volume offers policy-relevant and practice-oriented insights for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners concerned with the role of higher education in advancing sustainable development in diverse national and regional contexts.