Moldova State University as an Actor of Climate Transition: Education, Innovation and Sustainable Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Climate change is currently an important challenge that humanity is facing. One of key solutions to address the problem is to raise awareness of its seriousness and educate society on responsible behavior. Universities as centers of excellence in education thus have an increasingly important role to play, both through the research component, educating young people on sustainable entrepreneurship, but also through their own example, by aligning their functioning with the principles of sustainable development.

This research was conducted under the “Climate Engine” project. Its originality lies in the integration of two distinct yet complementary perspectives: establishing the role of universities in the climate transition, in general, and, in particular, the role of Moldova State University in this process.

In order to attain this objective, the research was conducted in two stages:

1. At the first stage – the papers from Web of Sciences Core Collection on this topic were identified and selected using a PRISMA 2020 adapted protocol in 5 stages. The selected articles were subsequently extracted and analyzed using VOSviewer (1.6.20) software to determine the link between “climate change” and “higher education”. This also allowed to identify the most relevant scientific articles, to study them and to deduct the most relevant conclusions regarding the role of higher education institutions worldwide in climate transition;
2. At the second stage – the authors used the “Impact Pathway” methodology to determine the contribution of Moldova State University in the climate transition process. This allowed mapping the relations between the institutional actions, educational outcomes, innovation initiatives and the impact on sustainable development.                                                                                                                            Finally, the authors conclude that higher education institutions, including Moldova State University, play a key role in the climate transition by mandatory integration of sustainability and green entrepreneurship modules into all study programs, creating strategic partnerships with the private sector and public authorities for the practical application of academic innovations, as well as by actively stimulating young people in establishing start-ups oriented towards climate solutions.