Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals
News
Stewardship
SDG Alliance
A number of students have expressed a desire to connect with like-minded individuals and form a new student club with a mission to help advance the SDGs (and sustainability at large) on campus and beyond. Work is currently underway by a group of students to register the University of Alberta SDG Alliance as a new student club/group.
Outreach
The University of Alberta collaborates with Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other units to tackle the Sustainable Development Goals through student volunteering programs; research programs; the development of educational resources; and the delivery of education, engagement and capacity building events.
Education, Engagement and Capacity Building Events
International Week
Started in 1986, International Week is the largest annual extracurricular educational event at the University of Alberta. Workshops, film screenings, speakers and interactive activities foster global citizenship through engagement with some of today's most pressing issues including sustainability, poverty and the precarious status of refugees and displaced people. I-Week invites students, staff and the general public to hear from speakers, experts and NGOs to learn about international and local perspectives on global issues. Since 2015, the programming has raised awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals and showcased local experts and activists making progress on the goals. I-Week is an incubator of ideas and a source of inspiration for everyone to work together for a better world.
Alberta Student Leadership Summit
The Sustainability Council and Sustain SU’s Alberta Student Leadership Summit was a five day, nation-wide leadership conference open to both high school and post-secondary students. All sessions were free and accessible online and provided daily, sustainability-focused, streamed sessions covering topics such as fair trade, climate refugees, energy and e-waste.
Sustainability Awareness Week
The University of Alberta Sustainability Council’s annual Sustainability Awareness Week highlights campus sustainability initiatives and social and environmental issues, and it offers opportunities to build connections beyond campus. Events include popular walking tours, hands-on workshops, speaker panels, film screenings and explorations of local food.
Capacity Building Programs
Together Alberta
The Alberta Council for Global Cooperation (ACGC) champions the Sustainable Development Goals in Alberta. In 2019, to understand the ecosystem of organizations and individuals advancing the goals, they launched the project Together Alberta: Mapping Alberta’s Contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals. The University of Alberta supported this project and continues to participate in ACGC’s efforts to raise the goals’ profile in Alberta.
Alberta Council for Global Cooperation SDG Hub
The SDG Hub is a skill-development, volunteering and mentorship program for youth ages 18-24 in Alberta. While completing volunteer hours with an organization or by initiating their own projects, participants have the opportunity to attend professional development training, engage in meaningful dialogue on local and global sustainable development issues, and be matched with a mentor. Meet the 2021-2022 cohort and learn how Alberta’s youth (including University of Alberta students) are engaging with global challenges to make the world a better place.
Adaptation Reslience Training (ART)
With the Adaptation Resilience Training (ART) program, students gain experience applying the skills they have gained throughout their post-secondary education, while also contributing to Alberta’s resilience to the impacts of climate change.
Relationships, Cross-sectoral Dialogue and Collaboration with Non-governmental Organizations
Academics Without Borders
Academics Without Borders, an NGO, supports capacity development in tertiary education in developing countries so that these countries can educate their own experts and professionals.
African Institute for Mathematical Sciences
The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is a non-governmental organization established in 2003; it is Africa’s first and largest network of centres of excellence for innovative post-graduate training in mathematical sciences. They enable Africa’s youth to shape the continent’s future through science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education; public engagement; and research. They have five centres of excellence in South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon and Rwanda.
Engineers Without Borders: Junior Fellowship Program in International Development - Volunteer Placement - Internship
The Engineers Without Borders (EWB) University of Alberta Chapter strives to create a multi-disciplinary community of systems change leaders who courageously commit to transforming systems that allow inequality to persist. Through asking tough questions and investing in people and ideas, the chapter works to see change in the University of Alberta community and beyond. Through their network of Canadian University Chapters and ventures in Sub-Saharan Africa, they hope to create and connect young leaders around the world through policy and advocacy work, impact investing, dreaming big and working hard. The Junior Fellowship Program is a four month, overseas placement working in one of EWB’s many ventures.
Education and Engagement Initiatives/Programs
Sustainability Scholars
The University of Alberta Sustainability Council’s Sustainability Scholars Program sponsors University of Alberta graduate students to work on applied research projects with Edmonton-area institutions. These partnerships create unparalleled opportunities for graduate students to share their ideas and innovations, and to also learn best practices from working professionals. The program is designed to develop University of Alberta graduate students' professional aptitudes, especially in sustainability-related career fields.
Campus as a Living Lab (CALL)
Campus as a Living Lab (CALL) research programs use the university campus as a testing ground for sustainability solutions. These projects connect the classroom to the real world, enabling students to find the solutions and generate the data that we need to build a better world.
Graduate Student Program in Community Engagement, School of Public Health
The University of Alberta Graduate Student Program in Community Engagement in the School of Public Health offers an in-depth theoretical examination of the conceptual and philosophical underpinnings of community engagement, along with critical analysis of related, evidence-based research and the opportunity to gain practical experience.
Play Around the World
Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport & Recreation’s Play Around the World service-learning course sends University of Alberta students on a 3-month placement with NGOs in select countries to collaborate in the provision of sport, recreation, play and physical activity to children and youth of all abilities.
Sustainability Lecture Series
This lecture series brings together local expertise and global innovation across all fields of sustainability. Meet scholars from the University of Alberta and beyond in fields ranging from engineering to ecology, public health to poetry, native studies to nanotechnology and more.
Future Energy Systems - Outreach
Future Energy Systems organizes visits to classrooms in the Edmonton area. Depending on the age of the participants and the request, classroom or organization visits may incorporate hands-on activities or talks.
Educational Activities for Alumni, Students, and the Local Community
Careers Aren’t Linear
The experiences you have, the interests you pursue and the decisions you make — during and after your time at university — will impact your career, often in ways you can’t predict. But it’s not all up to fate!
Precision Health in Action: Making Medicine Work for You
The newest frontier in health care is all about precision: diagnoses, treatments and preventive measures tailored towards a patient’s biological and environmental makeup instead of the traditional “one-size-fits all” approach. It could mean learning you have a chronic or rare disease with one simple test or being prescribed a medication that’s more effective and has fewer side effects, all because it was made with your genetics in mind.
Roots of Change: The Future of Canadian Gardens and Plates
Four experts in public health, anthropology, nutrition and agriculture will discuss how modern gardens interact with some of the most pressing issues of our time—and what we can be doing in our own backyards to build a healthier planet.
Research
NextGen Database
The NextGen Database maps areas of research to the SDGs and identifies how researchers in Canada contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It allows users to find researchers or practitioner-researchers to collaborate with.
Researchers at the School of Public Health working to advance the SDGs
Learn how faculty members at the School of Public Health are advancing the SDGs through research and innovation to improve the lives of populations locally and globally.
Global Partnerships
Tackling today's large and complex issues, captured by the SDGs, not only demands collaboration across diverse fields, but also across international boundaries. Research drives new knowledge, discoveries and innovations that advance the lives of people around the world.
Notable Stories
To ensure students understand and can contribute to the SDGs, the University of Alberta has committed to meaningful SDG-related education that spans faculties and departments across the university and is relevant and applicable to all students.
The University of Alberta, along with 56 other global universities, has signed a joint statement in favour of taking active steps to address the SDGs as a collective. This is the first time that so many leading universities—representing 30 countries and regions over six continents—have come together to jointly commit to the achievement of the UN SDGs.