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Comparison of Interviews
 

In this section, we make comparisons among the different groups of people we interviewed and surveyed within our own campus, as well as among the interview respondents at Tallinn University. 

student survey

Student survey and the president interview

Through the comparison with the student survey and interview with President Terumichi, we found interesting differences in the idea of sustainability. 

1. Keywords that come to mind when you think about sustainability

Students: environment, SDGs, education, equality 

President: perspective, experience, identification/discernment, sharing

 

A lot of students came up with general words such as environment when they hear the word sustainability. Although President Terumichi mentioned environmental issues in his interview, he came up with words related to wellbeing or how sustainability is attained for this question. 

words that students most closely associated with defining sustainability

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2. The best environmental initiatives at Sophia

Students: water, server, installation, don't know

President: SPSF, United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment

 

While most students answered water servers, the President chose a new undergraduate program (Sophia Program for Sustainable Futures) and investment. In March 2021, the university installed water servers and the most popular answer from the student survey was “water server”. We consider there are three reasons why so many students chose water servers as the best environmental initiative. First, there is the SDGs logo at the top of them which attained an image of sustainability for students. Second, carrying one's own water bottle has become a trend among young people. Third, the water server is easy to fetch clean water and is much more hygienic than normal water fountains. The second popular answer was “don’t know”. Even though the university has done some environmental initiatives, they are not recognized by most of the students. This further shows the gap of awareness for actions that are taken by the university. We found the necessity of sharing initiatives more effectively and involving students to raise awareness.

words that students most closely associated with the best environmental initiatives

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3. Areas of SDGs that should be prioritized

Students: (Personal thoughts) Good health and Well-being, Quality Education, No poverty;

(Require for the University) Quality education, Gender equality, Reduced inequality 

President: hunger and health issues (goals cannot be divided) 

 

Both students and the President consider well-being as the most important area of SDGs in general because it is the fundamental aspect of life. 

By comparing the student survey and the interview with President Terumichi, we found the basic philosophy is similar. However, the awareness towards sustainability and the university’s initiatives are different. When we asked, “What are some improvements or changes that you would like to see implemented at Sophia?” students wrote a lot of practical ideas to create a more sustainable campus. Among them, some students mentioned that there are few opportunities to think about sustainability and know what the university does for sustainability. Thus, the university needs to inform others of their initiatives effectively so that students can understand them and be involved. In addition, the university and students need to work together to create a sustainable campus for everyone. One way is that students provide ideas for a sustainable campus and the university officially proceeds the initiatives with students. Since the philosophy that both the President and students have is similar, it would be possible to cooperate for a better society.

Student survey and President interview

Through the comparison with the student survey and interview with President Terumichi, we found interesting differences in the idea of sustainability. 

Comparison of interview results between Tallinn and Sophia

The comparison of interview results between Talin and Sophia
Group 1: Interviews with professors

 

Definition of sustainability:

Almost all professors in both universities literally interpreted “sustainability” and answered that it meant not to use up resources which exist on the planet in the consideration of their future generations. Other than that, it is interesting that one professor in Sophia answered it meant “biodiversity”, and 2 professors in Tallinn related it to people’s capacity to learn and gain knowledge. Overall, the professors tend to define sustainability in general, not in specific fields.

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Do students/faculty members share the same definition of sustainability as you?

The professors at Tallinn tended to have a strong impression that their students are already aware of the current situation, knowledgeable, and active. However, some pointed out that students' understandings of sustainability were somewhat different depending on the departments they belonged to. For example, on average, students studying the natural sciences tend to be more aware about sustainability issues than students in other fields.

 

Some professors at Sophia also answered that students have a lot of knowledge about sustainability and are very active. However, the interviews highlighted that each of the professors have different understandings of sustainability, and no one really knows what sustainability is because of the challenges with defining the term. We need a broader definition which can encompass all kinds of goals, not just environmental issues.

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Do you think the university is doing a good job in actually promoting sustainability? 

Most of the professors at Sophia University acknowledged that the university was trying to do a lot for realizing a sustainable campus. However, they claimed that there is still a large room for improvement, especially in the areas of environmental sustainability. The university can do more other than offering education, such as greening the campus, reducing paper waste, and calculating the amount of discarded plastic.

 

On the other hand, at Tallinn University, some of the interviewees did not know specifically what their university was doing to achieve a sustainable campus. Those who were familiar with initiatives on campus mentioned examples like on-campus waste sorting and reducing the use of disposable coffee cups. There appears to be a difference in the attitudes of Sophia University and Tallinn University. It is important to assess how both universities make their plans for sustainability open to everyone, as this may affect the attitudes of students, faculty, and staff toward sustainability.

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Group 2: Interviews for administrative and management staff

Each interview is separated into two parts.

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Part 1: The university’s plan and achievements

What do you consider to be the best environmental initiative that the university has undertaken? Would you say that the SDGs have been taken into account in these efforts?

The administrative/management staff at Sophia raised the following initiatives:

- SPSF (an educational program that takes a multifaceted view of sustainability)

- Responsible Investment

- Private University Research Branding Project (cleaning up river water)

- Commitment to 100% renewable energy

- Sustainability Promotion Devision

- Buildings on campus (e.g., Building 15, which will be completed in the spring of 2022, is made of wood to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere) 

- Gender (increasing the ratio of female faculty members to a certain percentage)

→ SDGs are considered in all these initiatives.

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At Tallinn University, the majority of respondents claim to have been familiar with the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals.

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Part 2: Personal connection

When you think of sustainability, what are three keywords that come to mind? Please explain what you mean by them.

Sophia: The keywords that were similar among the four interviewees were "compassion," "discernment," and "sharing." They relate to the central philosophy of the SDGs: “Leave no one behind.”As Sophia is a Christian university, the way that the administrative and management staff think about sustainability reflects Christian values of peace, respect for others, care for the environment, and social justice.

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Tallinn: The three most frequently mentioned keywords were "future," "spirituality or mental well-being," and "environment." Others mentioned were "gender equality," "culture," and "civic responsibility." In general, the staff members tended to think of mental health and well-being before saving or improving the environment (although the latter point was also important).

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When we asked students at Sophia to name three keywords related to sustainability, most of them mentioned broad terminologies like "environment," "SDGs," and "education." On the other hand, administrative and management staff in both universities came up with words that were more closely related to specific perspectives and values. This might be because they play an important role in leading the university forward and shaping a common vision for all students and professors.

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In your opinion, what areas of the SDGs should be prioritized?

Sophia: The President recognized hunger and health issues as a high priority since they relate to human dignity and are fundamental for all of us. Other administrative members and management staff answered that we should change people’s mindsets to effectively carry out the SDGs. In that sense, rather than focusing on specific SDGs, the most important thing is to nurture students and others to become actors of the SDGs. 

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Tallinn: While the management team generally believed that attention should be paid to all of the objectives, there was an emphasis on maintaining mental health and well-being. Keeping the faculty, rectors, and staff motivated is also seen as a good thing for the well-being of students, as they create the content that is imparted to students.

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In conclusion, the common answer was that our mental well-being is highly important, because if there is no one taking action to achieve sustainability, the situation will never be changed. It is difficult to decide a priority within the SDGs; therefore, it would be ideal to pay attention to all of the areas in parallel.

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