THE ROLE OF THE UNIVERSITY IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF STUDENT AND FACULTY TRENDS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TAMANRASSET
Authors: Maatallaha Mohammed , Lamsadfab Sidamar , Guennounc Abdelhak 
Published: September 2024

Purpose: This article studies and analyzes the role of the university in achieving the goals of sustainable development, by revealing the orientations of students and faculty members of the University of Tamanrasset regarding the contribution of higher education and scientific research activities to the economic, social and environmental development of Tamanrasset region and the challenges that prevent the university from performing its functions in the best possible way, in addition to presenting proposals that would contribute to the integration of the university into its local and national environment and keeping pace with changes at the global level.

Methodology: The descriptive approach was adopted in this study, where descriptive indicators of educational activity and scientific publications of professors and students of Tamanghasset University that serve the goals of sustainable development were analyzed. The study also used the questionnaire tool to arrive at a standard model that helps in accurately interpreting the results obtained through various statistical data.

Results: The results indicate the importance of the university's functions in achieving the sustainable development goals, as the correlation coefficient between them reached 0.7, with an emphasis on the greater impact of scientific research compared to higher education. The results also showed that the level of university education and scientific research is still modest at the University of Tamanrasset, which was reflected in its performance in achieving the sustainable development goals due to several reasons, the most prominent of which were the weakness of educational programs and curricula and the absence of incentives for individual and collective initiatives related to finding solutions to economic, social and environmental issues in the region.

Practical Implications: The study suggests that the university should support university education for sustainable development by undertaking specific activities that translate into the university’s work and its relations with the environment, and that educational programs and curricula should take into account labor market expectations and social and economic challenges, in addition to stimulating and valuing scientific research to solve issues with a local dimension and supporting individual and collective initiatives related to the environment through scientific clubs and student organizations to spread environmental awareness among students.

Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by providing a detailed analysis of the role of the university in achieving the sustainable development goals, which have become a topic of increasing interest due to the environmental challenges facing the world in recent years. The unique focus of the study on the University of Tamanrasset provides valuable insights and recommendations for valuing the outcomes of higher education and scientific research in Algeria in general and in the Tamanrasset region in particular to support sustainable development.