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Latest Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report
Monash Progress Report 2020
Monash Progress Report 2020 – Goal 17

Monash Progress Report 2020 – Goal 17

Monash University Progress Report 2020 on the Sustainable Development Goals

Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

Research

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AI for Better Governance View

The AI for Better Governance program is working to help decision-makers tackle complex public problems by using AI in innovative and new ways. Building AI tools that analyse data and generate actionable insights, can help decision-makers to make evidence-informed decisions and support the achievement of sustainable development. As well as addressing the technical concerns, the group is undertaking social and policy research to ensure that AI solutions meet the needs of decision-makers.

Localising the SDGs PhD research cohort View

PhD students at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute are taking a closer look at how the SDGs framework can enable transformative change in different levels of society – from cities and urban spaces, to regional areas, and universities.

Our students are researching the ways in which people in different sectors are currently working with the SDGs, and they’re working to understand whether or not the SDGs are indeed leading to systemic change.

Topics include: the relationship between the SDGs and the transformative role of Higher Education Institutions towards sustainable development; the role the SDGs can play in changing the ways in which cities are planned and shaped; and the scope for transformative local action in implementing the SDGs.

Local SDGs program View

Local communities are concerned about the future as change is occurring more rapidly than at any time in human history. Communities are asking how they can be more resilient, adaptive, cleaner, greener, manage risks, and cope with surprises; how they can achieve ambitious global sustainability goals, while responding to their own local needs and desires.

Monash Sustainable Development Institute is working with Deakin University to develop robust pathways for local Australian communities to adapt, prosper, and thrive under future uncertainty, taking a bottom-up approach to achieving the SDGs.

Transforming Australia – 2020 progress update View

The Transforming Australia 2020 progress report and interactive data site, prepared by Monash Sustainable Development Institute, tracks Australia’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

It also highlights the impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s ability to meet the SDG targets by 2030. Transforming Australia measures Australia’s performance against a set of 56 indicators linked to the UN SDGs. It builds on targets and measures of progress that we documented in 2018.

The report aims to stimulate a national conversation and dialogue about what Australia can and should do in the future, as we look to recover from COVID-19.

Education

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Bachelor of Science (Hon) – Global Challenges View

The Monash Science Advanced – Global Challenges (Honours) is the first degree of its kind in Australia that pushes the boundaries of science, and uses science to solve the world’s biggest challenges: climate change, conflict, obesity and an ageing population. This undergraduate course is for high-achieving science students who have the drive and passion to use science to influence business, government, the not-for-profit sector and the wider community.

Master of Environment and Sustainability View

The Master of Environment and Sustainability is a forward-thinking, interdisciplinary, two-year course that integrates the knowledge needed to mitigate and adapt to global change with sustainability principles. Central to its approach is an understanding of the scale of dependence of social, economic and environmental systems for effective environmental governance. Thus, the course focuses on developing a global change knowledge base and a diverse vocational skill set, and provides evidentiary and interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving.

Global Immersion Guarantee View

The Global Immersion Guarantee is a ground-breaking funded study opportunity to work with overseas communities on local solutions to some of the most pressing global challenges. Students are placed at the intersection between the environment, society and technology, and explore how these concepts can influence how we to respond to the human impact on the environment. Despite the program being cancelled due to border closures in 2020, it won an International Education Association of Australia Excellence Award for Best Practice in International Education.

Green Steps View

Green Steps is an award-winning transformational sustainability leadership program, equipping Monash students with the skills, tools and knowledge needed to become effective leaders and sustainability change agents. The program offers innovative and practical sustainability training and consultancy projects for ambitious emerging leaders. Over the past 22 years, the extracurricular program has transformed lives, launched careers and most importantly, created a network of leaders who are now working in organisations to make the world a more sustainable place to live.

Leave No One Behind View

Leave No One Behind is a program for recent Monash graduates and current students, helping them turn their innovative ideas into social businesses that address disadvantage and inequality in local Communities. The program teaches ins and outs of social business and entrepreneurship, and works with students to develop, test and pitch new business ideas. In 2020, an adapted version of the program was run with year nine students from Kilvington Grammar School.

Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education (YEAH) View

YEAH is a transdisciplinary, multi-institutional network that equips students with real-world experience of collaborative, evidence-based approaches to global environmental sustainability. Monash is one of the principal partners and helped organise the YEAH Global Virtual Conference 2020.

Unit statistics and highlights View

In 2020, 63 units directly related to SDG17 were offered across Monash University, with a total enrolment of 5,620 students.

The units highlighted below are a small sample of the units at Monash relating to the Sustainable Development Goals:

APG5434 Sustainability measurement
ENS5010 Global challenges and sustainability
ENS5020 Perspectives on sustainability

Engagement

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SDG framework for driving sustainability outcomes for urban water utilities View

Prepared for the Water Services Association of Australia, this discussion paper exmines how operations and activities of the urban water industry fit within the SDGs, and provides water utilities with support through the provision of tools and a framework to measure the impact of utilities going forward.

Accelerating Education for the SDGs: Guide View

Monash was a key supporter in the development of Accelerating Education for the SDGs – a guide launched in September 2020 by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

The guide aims to inspire and empower universities and higher education institutions to provide their learners with the knowledge, skills and mindsets to contribute to solving the world's sustainable development challenges and achieving the SDGs, regardless of their pathway in life. Monash was also partner on the globally renowned predecessor guide, Getting Started with the SDGs in Universities (2017).

Connections for Change View

The University launched its Connections for Change program to help alumni and their organisations adapt and grow in the challenging pandemic circumstances. More than 2,000 alumni across 60 countries participated in our Alumni to Alumni mentoring program.

More than 50 global leaders also gave video interviews as part of a new initiative, which leveraged the experience of these leaders to help alumni and their businesses prepare, face and flourish in the wake of the pandemic.

Social Systems Evidence View

In partnership with McMaster University in Canada, Monash is creating the world’s most comprehensive repository of research evidence of ‘what works’ to address the SDGs.

The Social Systems Evidence (SSE) platform provides free and fast access to the evidence-base on programs and policy options to help decision-makers decide which option is best to address Sustainable Development challenges in their part of the world.

Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) View

Monash is host to the Australia, New Zealand & Pacific Regional Network of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a global network of universities and knowledge institutions that mobilises global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical problem solving for sustainable development.

SDSN AusNZPac aims to empower and mobilise universities and knowledge institutions in our region to support the achievement of the SDGs in the region and globally, focussing on supporting the localisation of the SDGs in our region across all sectors, facilitating greater support and engagement by the university and knowledge sector with the SDGs, and engaging young people and university students in the region on the SDGs.

Operations

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University commitment to the SDGs View

Monash University was one of the first signatories to the University Commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, in 2016. As a signatory, Monash is committed to support and promote the principles of the SDGs through our world leading research, innovation and education, and strives to ensure our campuses and major programs are environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive.

Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) View

Monash Business School is a proud signatory to the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). PRME is an initiative that was founded in 2007 with the support of the United Nations. Its aim is to serve as a platform to raise the profile of sustainability in schools around the world and to equip today's business students with the understanding and ability to deliver change tomorrow