Maximising the impact of SDGs across the university

De Montfort University’s work as the global hub for Sustainable Development Goal 16 is a massive responsibility. 

The work going on across the university on SDG 16, as well as other engagements with the United Nations, is being co-ordinated at a strategic level in the university. 

DMU’s five-year Strategic Plan makes the SDGs the “prism through which we will explore new and exciting possibilities in our teaching, research and student support.” 

All research carried out by academics at the universities now has to align to at least one of the SDGs, as do all volunteering and public engagement projects. 

This means a governance structure to better co-ordinate outputs to maximise those impacts for teaching, learning and research and enhance the university’s profile through its partnership with the UN, one of the world’s most influential organisations. 

This need has seen the establishment of the UN and SDG Strategy Committee by the university, with strategic oversight being provided by Heather McLaughlin, Pro Vice-Chancellor Community and Civic Engagement, as per the amendments above. and the senior reporting officer Mark Charlton, the Associate Director of Public Engagement. 

The UN and SDG Planning Group is broken down into the four main categories of the university’s work in those areas – SDG 16 and the UN; research; teaching and learning; and university operations. 

There are then 12 sub-categories reporting in on all facets of the university’s work across all the SDGs, sustainability and the UN. 

These include SDG 16 itself, the library and learning services, trips to improve global citizenships, the new UN Journal, seminars and conferences, embedding sustainability into modules, communications and all areas of university and its practices to improve sustainability.