© United Nations

Leveraging Postgraduate Education for Sustainable Development: The Resource-Nexus and Environmental Management in Global South Partnerships

Official Side Event - SDG Action Weekend - September 16^th, 2023 (SDG Mobilization Day) 09:30-11:00 am, United Nations University – Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR), 767 Third Avenue 35B, New York, NY 10017, USA

Download the summarizing White Paper here.

Introduction

This side event at the SDG Action Weekend, co-organized by TU Dresden and the United Nations University, seeks to explore the significant potential of postgraduate education at higher education institutions in contributing towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The side event will focus on the pivotal role of environmental management and the concept of the resource nexus in partnerships with the Global South, acknowledging the importance of promoting sustainable development practices in developing regions.

Background and Rationale

Higher education institutions play a crucial role in fostering innovation, research, and knowledge transfer that directly impact the attainment of the SDGs. Postgraduate education, in particular, provides a unique opportunity to train and equip the next generation of leaders, researchers, and professionals with the necessary skills, knowledge, and interdisciplinary perspectives required to address complex global challenges.
The concept of the resource nexus emphasizes the interconnectedness of different resources (e.g., water, energy, food, materials) and the importance of adopting a holistic approach to sustainable development. By promoting collaborations and partnerships with the Global South, we can facilitate knowledge exchange, capacity building, and technology transfer, thus creating a positive ripple effect across regions and addressing common sustainability challenges.

Objectives

The main objectives of the side event are:

• to showcase successful initiatives and case studies where postgraduate education has contributed significantly to advancing the SDGs, particularly in the context of environmental management and resource-nexus applications
• to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing postgraduate programs that focus on sustainability and the resource nexus, especially in partnerships with higher education institutions in the Global South.
• to promote collaboration and partnerships between universities, governmental bodies, NGOs, and other stakeholders to enhance the impact of postgraduate education on sustainable development efforts.

Key Themes and Topics

The side event will revolve around the following themes and topics:

• Environmental Management and its Role in Achieving the SDGs
• The Resource-Nexus: A Holistic Approach to Sustainable Development.
• Best Practices in Postgraduate Education for Sustainability
• Case Studies from Global South Partnerships
• Overcoming Challenges in Implementing Sustainable Postgraduate Programs
• Strengthening Global Collaborations and Knowledge Exchange.

Some exemplary programs represent case studies for different target groups, different stages of experience/development, and examples of measurable impacts, such as the level of knowledge uptake and increased awareness (e.g., frequent inquiries and offers of Ph.D. positions to dive deeper), behavior change (e.g., increased no. of conducted fellowships and joint research projects in sustainable development) and partnerships and collaborations (increased north-south collaborations to advance sustainable development):

© CIPSEM

Centre For International Postgraduate Studies of Environmental Management (CIPSEM) - The centre is based at TU Dresden and aims to support the environmentally sound and sustainable growth of developing countries including emerging market economies by assisting professionals from ministries, agencies, or local government units, NGOs, organizations and institutions in improving their knowledge base and skills. Successfully completed CIPSEM candidates of the comprehensively developed training programs and courses can make use of post-training seed funding, where exemplary success stories of such “transfer-to-action fellowships” are available here.

© ABCD-Centre

Global Water and Climate Adaptation Centre – Aachen, Bangkok, Chennai, Dresden (ABCD-Centre) - It addresses the pressing issue of humanity’s adaptation to the consequences of climate change with a particular focus on water. As a joint effort between leading scientific institutions, it enables a global dialogue, the transfer of research results into practice, and the education of future environmental leaders. The centre consists of three main pillars, including teaching (e.g., establishing a joint MSc. program), research (e.g., including mobility funds to foster joint cooperation), and transfer activities (e.g., holding international transfer workshops and conferences).

Resource Nexus for Sustainability Transformations (NEXtra) Programme - Ph.D. students from the Global South and with different disciplinary backgrounds will work on sustainability transformations using a Resource Nexus perspective. The focus of the programme is on interlinkages between environmental resources, and synergies and trade-offs in their management. Alumni are expected to turn into “agents of transformation” who will contribute towards sustainable development in their home regions and beyond.

© UNU

Knowledge Academy for the Resource Nexus (KARE) - Through an increased awareness around the research themes, the Knowledge Academy strengthens the resource nexus concept in interdisciplinary work, trains new generations of thought leaders and multipliers, and facilitates knowledge transfer globally with an increased digital footprint. The Knowledge Academy shall showcase UNU-FLORES’s work in education, capacity building, and knowledge transfer with a connection to all research of the Institute. We want to go beyond and establish such an academy on a UNU-wide level.

© UBA

TES Academy (Transformation for Environment and Sustainability) - The TES Academy of the German Environment Agency (UBA) offers inter- and transdisciplinary learning and collaboration spaces for professional actors, in which they can experience and (co-)shape concrete transformation processes along current challenges of sustainable development. Within the framework of scientifically based and virtual as well as physical formats, the TES Academy facilitates joint learning and long-term collaboration on personal, interpersonal, organizational, and overall societal levels, forms collaborative networks and partnerships, and further develops personal and institutional potentials in order to advance the social transformation for a sustainable future.

Format and Speakers

The side event will be structured as lightening talks with a follow-up panel discussion, featuring experts, representing various institutions involved in the collaboration above and beyond. Additionally, there will be interactive Q&A sessions to engage the audience and foster meaningful dialogue.

Prof. Dr. Tshilidzi Marwala, Rector of United Nations University and UN Under-Secretary General, Tokyo, Japan [pre-recorded]

Prof. Dr. Shinobu Yamaguchi, Director, United Nations University – Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, Tokyo, Japan [in-person]

Dr. André Lindner, Managing Director and Advisor Internationalization, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dresden University of Technology, Germany [in-person]

Prof. Dr. Saleemul Huq, Director, International Centre for Climate Change and Development, Dhaka, Bangladesh [pre-recorded]

Prof. Dr. Daniel Karthe, Head of Programme, United Nations University – Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources, Dresden, Germany [in-person]

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Fazli Ilahi, Vice Chancellor, Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology (AUST), Dhaka, Bangladesh [virtual]

Ralph Wollmann, President Office of the Geman Environment Agency, focal point for the TES Academy, and CIPSEM steering committee member. [virtual]

Dr. Christina Frömder, Associate Programme Officer, United Nations University – Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources, Dresden, Germany [in-person]

Dr. Saroj Kumar Chapagain, Associate Programme Officer, United Nations University – Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources, Dresden, Germany [in-person]

Representative of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). [virtual]

Expected Outcomes

By the end of the side event, we aim to achieve the following outcomes:

• increased awareness about the potential of postgraduate education in addressing sustainable development challenges
• identification of key strategies and best practices for integrating environmental management and resource-nexus concepts into postgraduate curricula
• strengthened partnerships and collaborations between higher education institutions in the Global South and other regions, fostering a shared commitment to sustainable development.

Registration

Registration is now CLOSED!

Contact for TU Dresden

© Thorsten Eckert

Managing Director

Name

Mr Dr. rer. nat. André Lindner

& Advisor Internationalisation

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School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

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