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Creating a Smart Campus: A British University Develops a ‘Living Lab’

Universities and colleges worldwide are leading the way through various means in demonstrating the benefits of a collaborative approach of academic research and industry expertise in creating sustainable solutions that benefit everyone. They also often function as ‘small cities,’ with their energy plants, sports facilities, and civic attractions, as well as the communal study, office, and research spaces that allow their daily function. This makes them without any doubt, an ideal test bed for innovation. 

German Academic-Scientific Initiative Focused on Plants for Tomorrow's Needs

“The intensification of the major drivers behind recent food insecurity and malnutrition trends (i.e., conflict, climate extremes, and economic shocks) combined with the high cost of nutritious foods and growing inequalities will continue to challenge food security and nutrition,” says one of the many conclusions of  published this year by the . The role of academia in countering these difficulties cannot be underestimated. 

Looking for an Alternative: Spanish University Actions on Fair Trade

“International trade is an engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction, and contributes to the promotion of sustainable development,” reads paragraph 68 of the . In parallel, the document , published by the , states that fair trade initiatives “often aim to a fairer distribution of gains along international value chains.” This is one of the reasons why fair trade has become a popular topic in institutions of higher education. 

UNAI Marks UN Day Discussing Role of Higher Education in Multilateralism

On Monday, 24 October 2022, the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) hosted at UN Headquarters in New York an event to mark United Nations Day, a commemoration that remembers the entry into force of the Charter of the United Nations. It aimed to highlight what universities and colleges worldwide are doing concerning global challenges, what multilateralism means for institutions of higher education, and what these institutions mean to the United Nations. 

Enhancing Understanding of the Tropics: Australian University Paves the Way

The Tropics is a place of extraordinary diversity, culturally and ecologically. Most of the world’s languages are spoken in the Tropics, and it is home to 80% of terrestrial biodiversity as well as 95% of the world’s coral and mangrove ecosystems. An area that also holds over half of the world’s renewable water resources. The Tropics are also where the most significant impacts from climate change are likely to be felt, with cascading effects on the rest of the world. 

Portuguese University Advocates for Creative Tourism in Small Cities

Creative tourism aims to offer visitors new experiences by stimulating their active participation in the places they visit and promoting their contact and involvement with locals as well as their traditions. “Cultural and creative tourism can make important contributions to cultural preservation and the socio-economic development and empowerment of local communities, especially when world civilizations are linked to creative tourism,” reads the .

Utah Valley University Hosts International Academic Conference on the SDGs

This Wednesday, 5 October 2022, at the campus of , a member institution of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) in the United States, located in the city of Orem, Utah, took place the opening of the  co-organized by the host institution and the United Nations Department of Global Communications, through the Civil Society Unit and UNAI, with participants from around the world.

From University Classrooms to the Field: Promoting Sustainable Agriculture

"Future improvements in agriculture and food systems will continue to rely on enhanced efficiency – producing more with less – but greater emphasis will be needed on the social and environmental dimensions of sustainability," says a technical reference document titled  published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

Advanced Farm 360 is an institutional development project of the Polytechnic School at the , a member institution of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) in Brazil, which aims to enhance teaching, research, extension, and innovation in agriculture. It has three main focuses: precision agriculture, precision animal science, and sustainable agricultural production.

University Scientists in El Salvador Research to Protect Biodiversity

The Cerrón Grande reservoir is the largest water body in El Salvador and is home to over fifteen species of fish and a wide variety of submerged and floating flora. Due to its international importance in conserving biological diversity, this wetland received the  (short for the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat) designation in 2005. 

Although the reservoir was constructed between 1973 and 1976 to produce electricity, the natural wealth found in its 135 km2 provides water and food for the sustenance of local communities, allowing the commercialization of products derived from artisanal fishing, shell-fishing, and hunting. This is particularly important in 2022, the .

Promoting Children’s Interest in Science: The Children’s University Project

“At a time of rampant misinformation, climate denial, and attacks on human rights, we need education systems that distinguish fact from conspiracy, instill respect for science, and celebrate humanity in all its diversity,” said the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, on 19 September 2022, during the opening of the Transforming Education Summit. The role of institutions of higher education in instilling that respect for science cannot be underestimated.

Energy Diplomacy and the UN: Data-Intensive Research from Brazilian Universities

A group of Brazilian researchers is turning to large-scale data to answer critical questions on global affairs, including at the multilateral level. These initiatives are intended to highlight the utility of such tools to a wide range of stakeholders while promoting the critical work conducted in the institutions of higher education that are part of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) initiative.

The first product, Energy Treaties Matrix �ǰ���, is a web platform for registering and monitoring international agreements related to energy. “It is a system that provides specialized resources, versatile solutions, and diversified analysis of energy agreements between countries and transnational organizations,” explained Henry Iure Paiva, Professor, and Coordinator of the Research Group on Energy Security at the .

Millennium Fellowship Class of 2022: Young Leaders Making the SDGs a RealityPrinciples Reality

The Millennium Campus Network (MCN) and the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) are proud to present the Class of 2022, an ambitious program to help make the Sustainable Development Goals and UNAI principles a reality. The Class of 2022 Millennium Fellows have been selected among a record-breaking 31,397 applicants from over 2,417 campuses across 140 nations.   

Millennium Fellows are university undergraduates selected based on their leadership on sustainable development-related projects that advance the SDGs in their communities.  As Millennium Fellows, they will participate in a semester-long leadership development program to improve their student organizing, partnership building and community impact skills.  

Fostering Experiential Education: Lehigh University Partners with ILO

For over a decade, , a member institution of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) in the United States, has collaborated with the  to create a series of experiential education opportunities for its students, faculty, and staff. However, due to the challenging effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant shift in how such opportunities can take place. 

University Combats Xenophobia in South Africa

Imani Khumalo, a recent graduate of a university in Johannesburg, South Africa, still remembers the shock she felt during a Philosophy class in her second year.

Students were asked by the lecturer to give their opinion on whether the immigration law in South Africa should be more stringent. Imani felt her heart quiver as one of her classmates spoke up: “Laws should be stricter. All foreigners come here illegally to steal our jobs.” Imani, who asked a pseudonym to be used for personal reasons, couldn’t speak up against him. “I was afraid that people were going to gang up on me if I did.”

Saudi Students Lead Initiative to Counter Hate Speech

When launching the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech in June 2019, Secretary-General António Guterres said that hate speech “is in itself an attack on tolerance, inclusion, diversity, and the very essence of our human rights norms and principles. More broadly, it undermines social cohesion, erodes shared values, and can lay the foundation for violence, setting back the cause of peace, stability, sustainable development, and the fulfillment of human rights for all.”