The Role of universities in sustainable development: the University of Rome 'Tor Vergata': a place of knowledge and promotion for sustainable projects

In the panorama of international strategies and commitments to sustainability, education is central to the pursuit of sustainable development. Educational institutions at all levels are playing a new role in promoting values and ideals linked to sustainable behavioral models. In this context, Universities are increasingly called on to take an active role in introducing attitudes and behaviors in favor of sustainable development and in involving the entire academic community in this process. The aim of this paper is to define the role of universities in sustainable development. These institutions are not only a ‘place’ where professionals are trained, but also their roles and responsibilities mean that they have a strong influence on the societies where they operate. After a detailed literature review, this paper explores how sustainable development should not be exclusively used in didactic activities, but also in educational paths to affect the way students think and act within their own academic communities. Given the objective of this work, a case study is used to describe the results of active change inside the Roman University of ‘Tor Vergata’.