Considering the role played by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs), we recognize that more knowledge is needed to provide a better understanding of their relationship, collaborations and work in relation to sustainable development. The aim of this article is to highlight "why" and "how" Higher Education (HE) is key to CCIs' sustainable development. Academic research in this specific field is scarce and we aim at soliciting more attention towards this niche research sector, given the potential positive spillovers that it could originate. Through retracing the arising of interest towards the CCIs in general and recently towards sustainability issues linked to the CCIs facing the challenge of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we show how these matters are inextricably associated to the essential role played by HE and HEIs. Thanks to the strong link between HEIs and CCIs' sustainable development, we can expect that a sort of mimetic isomorphism process will happen in the coming years, with a choice of a strategy of imitation instead of differentiation.