Partnership for the goals 2020
The University of Huddersfield’s Strategy Map (adopted 2019) commits to expansion in already extensive external engagement, including government SDG policy development. This is delivered in many areas. Prof Dilanthi Amaratunga is a member of the European Commission’s Joint Research Center and UN’s Office for Disaster Reduction (UNDRR), European Science & Technology Advisory Group (E-STAG), as one of 2 members representing the UK. E-STAG provides scientific and technical support to 56 European & Asian countries for policies implementing the Sendai Framework for DRR. (#1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13) Criminologist Dr Melanie Flynn contributes to policy on wildlife crime globally. Malaysia introduced sentencing guidelines for these offences, with her advice. This involved the government, judiciary, Attorney General & Sabah Law Association. (# 8, 9, 11, 14, 15) Policy impact also appears in work on gender-based violence in the None-in-3 project. (#3, 5, 10, 16)
Initiation and participation in cross-sectoral dialogue about the goals
Examples of the many workshops, conferences and other interactions with governments, NGOs, and others relevant to the SDGs include: Prof Amaratunga chaired the UNDRR European Science & Technology Advisory Group (E-STAG) retreat held at Huddersfield in Oct 2019. This composed of 20 scientists and experts nominated by European governments and it focused on key needs and priorities of 59 European and Asia national authorities responsible for disaster risk reduction, in order to improve understanding of needs and develop a more efficient way to support their actions.(#1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13) Chemical Engineer Dr Thanos Angelis-Dimakis organized and chaired a session on ‘Circular economy and industrial symbiosis’, at the 16th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology, CEST2019, 4-7 Sept 2019, Rhodes, Greece.(#12) Also in 2018/19, we hosted the 2nd INCCIP conference, bringing together parties interested in the rights of children with imprisoned parents.(#3, 5, 10, 16)
International collaboration in gathering and measuring data related to the goals
Huddersfield colleagues are extensively involved in data gathering and measurement related to the goals, across a variety of impactful international collaborations. For example, climate scientist Dr Phil Hwang works on the NERC MIZ project to improve understanding of marginal ice zone physics in climate models (#13, 14). Prof Monro’s work collaboration by the EU EUCIT programme, collecting data in Switzerland and Italy on issues affecting identity and sexual citizenship (#10, 16), which has produced e.g. Monro, Crocetti, Yeadon-Lee (2019). And Prof Coen Van Gulijk and colleagues from the Institute of Railway Research address the ways in which railways rely on safety management systems to capture and store structured and unstructured data relating to the operation of the railway. A method for identifying safety risks from miss reports has been established and is being used by the Industry. (# 8, 11)
Work to review comparative approaches and develop international best practice on tackling the goals
The None in Three Centre have rolled out the use of prosocial gaming to challenge gender-based violence in projects across four continents; an example illustrated here is from St Lucia in the Caribbean (#3, 5, 10, 16 (esp. ending abuse, sexual exploitation, and all forms of violence against children), and less directly #1, 2, 4)
Prof Simon Iwnicki and his colleagues in the Institute of Railway Research are world leaders in a range of technologies associated with rail transportation (#8, 11). Research there addresses, e.g., derailment risks from offset loading, see in reports such as that to the Rail Safety and Standards Board: P. Shackleton (2019) Imbalanced loading of bulk wagons (Report)
Profs Dilanthi Amaratunga & Richard Haigh worked with partners in Indonesia on a project ‘Mainstreaming Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaption: Strategies into Coastal Urban Agglomeration Policy’, which won the Newton Prize 2019 for Indonesia. (#1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13)
Work with NGOs
The University works with NGOs across a wide variety of activities. The University’s None-in-3 Centre works on Gender-based Violence across four continents (centrally addressing #3, 5, 10, 16 (includes ending abuse, sexual exploitation, & all forms of violence against children), and less directly #1, 2, 4), e.g. with ActionAid & other local agencies in Uganda.
Surya Monro, Professor of Sociology & Social Policy, has collaborated with intersex people and other stakeholders in NGOs on issues affecting intersex people and those with variations of sex characteristics. (#10, 16) This included collaboration with a refugee NGO (officer: Guillian Koko), working and publishing together (Koko, Monro, & Smith (2018)).
Prof Adrian Wood works with NGOs in Ethiopia (e.g. Ethio-wetlands & Natural Resources Assn) through a Darwin-funded project to support women’s micro-enterprises in forests & wetlands, supporting biodiversity and community development. (# 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16)
Education for the SDGs
The University has adopted a top-level strategic level commitment to ‘Enable all students to become inspiring and enterprising global professionals and achieve career and personal success’, and to ‘Create an inclusive globally aware community providing a world-leading and inspiring student experience’. This is manifest in the Global Professional Award (GPA), which is taken by all undergraduate students at the University. https://www.hud.ac.uk/undergraduate/global-professional-award/ The GPA has three areas of focus: employability and enterprise; wellbeing; and global citizenship skills. The award is accredited not only by the University of Huddersfield but by the Chartered Management Institute (level 5), aligned with their professional values, and as the course summary indicates for students, against ‘global citizenship skills’; ‘The modern, global world may seem a little daunting. The Award will give you new viewpoints to consider and perhaps challenge your current perceptions of the world and how you can have an impact in the future.’
The UN's Sustainable Development Goals are a key focus throughout the three years of the Award. In workshops, students are introduced to the concept and purpose of the SDGs from year 1. They research and analyse issues related to a number of the SDGs and are asked to work collaboratively to consider possible solutions on local and global scales. In years 2 and 3, the following SDGs underpin the curriculum: good health and well-being; gender equality; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; and climate action. Through synchronous and asynchronous teaching methods, students are regularly asked to consider these issues and their impacts, how they as individuals can contribute to positive solutions, and how they might make an impact in their areas of work, post-graduation. Students are also required to devote a number of hours to the GPA Electives, through which students undertake experiential learning opportunities (such as volunteering, work-integrated learning opportunities and placements) to apply their knowledge gained through the Award and to demonstrate their capacity to be truly global citizens.
The GPA is a compulsory module embedded in the experience of all undergraduate students at the University – it is not an optional additional award of the sort provided by some institutions.
Postgraduate students in the Huddersfield Business School all follow curricula which have been designed around the SDGs. The Business School has a long history of engagement with sustainability research. In the late 1990s, it housed the Centre for Corporate Environmental Management which focussed on supporting businesses in addressing environmental concerns; this important group is now known as SURGE (Sustainability, Resilience, Governance and Ethics). https://research.hud.ac.uk/institutes-centres/surge/
More than 10 years ago, the School pioneered an MSc Risk, Disaster and Environmental Management positioning environmental responsibility and sustainability at the heart of business education. In 2018, the entire PGT curriculum was redesigned and all modules were mapped against the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Huddersfield Business School’s MBA directly connects contemporary thinking on systemic risk with leadership responsibilities in both private and public sector contexts and the module “Responsible Leadership & Systemic Risk Management” is the centrepiece of the curriculum. https://courses.hud.ac.uk/full-time/postgraduate/master-of-business-administration-mba
Engagement with ethics, responsibility and sustainability are core learning goals for all graduates; at Masters level:
- 3.1 Evaluate principles of ethics, sustainability and responsibility in the subject area and propose solutions
- 3.2 Formulate and enact values relating to ethics, sustainability and responsibility that inform professional practice
The School is now appointing staff and student sustainability champions, not only to embed sustainable thinking into our own practice, but also to inspire our students to be active advocates of sustainability in their future professional practice.