Abstract:

Against the backdrop of human societal development increasingly relying on universities and sustainable development becoming an inescapable imperative for the progress of human society, the sustainable development of universities themselves has emerged as a research topic of significant contemporary relevance. Drawing upon the first principles of nature and insights from open systems theory, this paper proposes for the first time that universities function as open knowledge systems governed by first principles. By examining the substantial parallels between the sustainable development of universities and the evolutionary persistence of natural ecosystems, this study identifies and deconstructs matter, energy, and information as the fundamental elements sustaining university sustainability, thereby uncovering the underlying logic of university development. Based on the first principles of universities and their sustainable development elements, with information—which coordinates resource input and energy output—as the logical framework, this paper explores optimal pathways for university sustainability from three perspectives: the accuracy and sufficiency of information, the strength of professional talent, and the modernization of internal university governance.

Key words: university sustainable development, first principles of universities, matter, energy, information