How is the university responding to the expectations of the business world and in which areas should they promote better collaboration? At a time when ethics, governance, and sustainability have become the main drivers of success and reputation, what role can universities play in promoting more responsible leadership?
These were some of the issues discussed at the roundtable entitled “Beyond the Ivory Towers: How Can Universities and Companies Converge and Collaborate?” , part of the international conference program “The university as an epicenter of social responsibility”, promoted in Porto by the Catholic University, and in which Susana Carvalho, coordinator of Sustainability and Climate Transition at Bondalti, participated.
The conference was attended by teachers, students, and representatives of social organizations and the business sector, who discussed topics such as innovative pedagogical practices, science and citizenship, food and climate transition, arts and social justice.
At the round table, moderated by the vice-rector of the Catholic University of Porto, João Pinto, Susana Carvalho argued that “companies must increasingly invest in social and sustainable investment, which implies moving from a model focused on philanthropy to an investment model with return, which must be measured including the positive impact generated for all stakeholders and for society in general”.
As a way to respond to increasingly cross-cutting and complex issues and to enhance the benefits of deep collaboration, “it is essential to create very close bridges between academia, companies and social organizations and to highlight the role of universities as the epicenter of innovation and research. This is the path that Bondalti believes in and that we have put into practice, maintaining close proximity to several Portuguese universities”, he stressed.
Susana Carvalho also added that “universities can and should seek opportunities and call on the direct and objective participation of companies, assuming themselves to be the driving force that challenges organizations to imagine new development scenarios, to rethink their management and even to create value for their shareholders and other stakeholders”. In parallel, he argued that “companies must look to universities as a source of innovation to jointly solve challenges that they will encounter on this journey to the climate transition, with a view to greater social equity and sustainability of business models.”
