Act Together for the SDGs
Dr. Cen Huang on the SDGs
“As one of the country’s leading research and teaching institutions and a leading international university, it is clear that there are major opportunities to achieve even greater impact. We need to educate, raise awareness, and seek our own ways to contribute.”
Opportunities for Researchers
The University of Alberta is a member of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, granting free access to all faculty, staff and students. The SDSN is a global network established to mobilize scientific and technological expertise to promote practical solutions for sustainable development.
SDSN Research and Policy work includes publishing whitepapers, road maps and reports, as well as hosting conferences. A number of projects focus on data visualization, including The SDG Index, which uses publicly available data with tailored metrics to show how all countries are progressing on each of the SDGs. An interactive dashboard visualizes the goals and metrics with global and regional break downs. In addition to monitoring national and local governments' performance on the SDGs, the SDSN also works on business metrics.
Through the SDG Academy, the SDSN brings together global experts to create, curate and deliver free, educational lectures and materials on issues of sustainable development. These resources are global in nature, based on science, taught by experts in their fields, and accessible online, reaching hundreds of thousands of learners around the world. Online courses are taught in concurrent sessions and are available for self-paced learning. The SDG Academy Library is a searchable repository of videos available for instructors to use in their own courses.
SDSN Canada is focused on developing an SDG research agenda for Canada, cultivating high-quality SDG education, and galvanizing support throughout the country to achieve the SDGs.
How can you take advantage of your SDSN membership?
SDSN Mobilize is the internal communications platform exclusively for SDSN Members. The platform can be leveraged by all members to share publications, communicate about events, submit calls for proposals, share funding opportunities, or simply ask questions or share information relating to the SDGs.
Register now for free and instant access to SDSN Mobilize.
- Follow the prompt to sign up for the Onboarding Lounge.
- Use your @ualberta.ca email address.
- Check the box for SDSN Canada as your national/regional network and select Member as your network role.
- (Optional) Check off thematic areas of expertise or interest to be looped into networks e.g. Climate Solutions, Data & Statistics, etc.
- Once you are in, please join the Canada & USA group. The SDSN Canada team shares all announcements here alongside news from other institutions and the US.
- You can also join other groups organized by geography and thematic interests.
- You have the option of using the SDSN Mobilize website and iOS or Android app to communicate, or you can receive messages through email—choose whichever method works best for you.
- Under profile settings you can enable or disable email notifications. You can also choose to receive a daily digest or instant notifications.
- Upload your events to the event calendar, and browse for upcoming online events.
- Check back in regularly for funding opportunities. These are often broad in geographic scope.
- Post updates on publications and resources that you have created.
- Browse the membership list for potential collaborators. The listing is searchable and filterable by interests.
- Start a discussion with fellow academics from around the world!
If you have any questions, please contact sustainability@ualberta.ca for assistance.
Other resources for researchers
The SDG Help Desk is the UN's one-stop online service providing access to SDG-related tools, knowledge products, data portals, expertise, advice and opportunities for peer-learning and regional South-South cooperation through thematic areas, covering a multitude of topics.
Find a global sustainable development researcher in Canada. 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. Find researchers or practitioner-researchers to collaborate with.
Together Alberta: Mapping Alberta’s Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals project is a public engagement initiative conducted by ACGC to bring together Albertans who are contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals, communicate their efforts, and drive further action.
Opportunities for Students
Take action for a sustainable world, both inside and outside of the classroom.
The World's Challenge Challenge invites student teams to propose an innovative solution to a major global issue. Thanks to the Lee Global Education Awards, the team with the best proposal wins $10,000 to make their solution a reality. They will also represent UAlberta at the global competition worth $30,000.
This challenge is an exciting way to engage with the complex problems that the SDGs seek to overcome. It asks students to bring forward new ideas and brings together active global citizens who seek to make a tangible impact on the world.
Other Opportunities
Get inspired by 170 Actions to Transform Our World! This book contains 10 daily suggestions for each SDG on how you can make a difference in the world around you. Try it yourself, and share with your friends and family.
The Certificate in Sustainability rewards your choice to focus on human and environmental issues that are increasingly important in today’s world. Study across disciplines to understand issues such as: climate change, food security, renewable energy, biodiversity and social inequality.
Among the 150+ courses counting toward the certificate are several focused on the SDGs. See what you could be studying today by browsing the course lists.
Inspirations
Nurses and midwives key to achieving health targets in low- and middle-income countries
Around the globe, non-physician health professionals are critical to the effective delivery of care and services that protect and improve the health of their communities. This has been especially apparent during the coronavirus pandemic.
U of A students look to cut plastic waste with hemp-based feminine hygiene products
Hempact project manager Nicole Sanchez hopes the startup’s prototype for a biodegradable, hemp-based menstrual pad will be ready for market in time for the federal government’s proposed ban on single-use plastics.
About this webpage
This webpage is maintained by the Sustainability Council and University of Alberta International, as part of our joint work advancing and promoting the Sustainable Development Goals.