WHY DEVELOP A “NEW” DOCTORAL PROGRAM IN SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT? CONTEXT AND REASONS FOR AN INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE

Abstract

This article discusses the need for a doctoral program addressing an existing gap in the international arena for specialized studies in a sustainable human development. The premise, in two parts, will contextualize the issue; the latter part of the article will describe how the program came about. We probably all agree that there is a universal principle that the University needs to defend: the full freedom of research as well as the right of human kind to knowledge and its free use. For many centuries the world has retained this principle as essential for freedom, wellbeing  and human advancement, but this very principle is under attack in many countries. It is therefore necessary for institutions of higher education all over the world to unite in re-affirming it.