In 2024, the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) established a new action group, “AI and Higher Education,” with Japan’s universities’ call for participation. Okayama University has nominated Prof. YOKOI Atsufumi (Vice President (Global Engagement) and UNESCO Chairholder), along with a Specially Appointed Assoc. Prof. KODA Masahide (Director of Co-learning Community Healthcare Re-innovation Office, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences) to participate as committee members.
The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI)* was launched in 2012 as an open partnership among several UN agencies and the higher education community to strengthen the role of higher education institutions in promoting sustainable development. Okayama University is one of the few Japanese universities that have been part of the HESI community since its inception.
The background to establishing the action group includes the accelerated development of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI applications, which significantly impact the higher education sector. This situation necessitates reevaluating education, learning, research, engagement, and management. Furthermore, global challenges such as pandemics, climate change, biodiversity loss, widening inequality, and political unrest have significantly stalled progress toward the SDGs. There is a need for fundamental transformation and groundbreaking innovation to get sustainable development back on track.
The “AI and Higher Education” action group serves as an interdisciplinary collaborative platform to build a knowledge base on current trends, opportunities, and risks of AI in higher education from a sustainable development perspective. Five subcommittees* have been established in the action group.
From February 2025, Vice President Prof. Yokoi will be a committee member of the “AI in Institutional Management and Administration” subcommittee. He will leverage his experience as chair of the Sustainable Campus Subcommittee of the UNU SDG-Universities Platform and as a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Office of Sustainability to propose policies on how AI can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of higher education management from a sustainable development perspective. Additionally, Specially Appointed Assoc. Prof. Koda will explore mission-oriented research and development as a committee member of the “AI in Research and Development” subcommittee, focusing on innovative AI solutions to global challenges such as climate change, renewable energy, biodiversity loss, sustainable cities, and social inequality.
In the future, our university will actively engage with AI as a higher education institution to accelerate research, education, and social contribution efforts toward co-creating a desired future for the region and the planet through multistakeholder and intergenerational solidarity.
*Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI)
HESI emphasizes the critical role of higher education in achieving sustainable development by holding a global forum as a special event at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) each year. HESI is a partnership between multiple UN agencies and the higher education community, currently chaired by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the United Nations University, the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC), and the Sulitest Association. Other UN partners include UNESCO, the United Nations Environment Programme, the UN Global Compact’s Principles for Responsible Management Education initiative, UN-Habitat, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, the United Nations Office for Partnerships, and the United Nations Academic Impact.
*Action Group: Five Subcommittees on “AI and Higher Education”
・AI in Teaching and Learning
・AI in Research and Development
・AI in Institutional Management and Administration
・AI in Community and Industry Engagement
・AI in Ethics, Safety, and Inclusivity
UNU Website: HLPF Special Event Highlights Critical Role of Higher Education in Sustainable Development
UN DESA Website:
https://sdgs.un.org/HESI/Futures
Concept Note
Vice President Prof. Yokoi (left) and Specially Appointed Assoc. Prof. Koda (right)