Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Professor Paul Wellings signed a university-wide commitment to meet and address the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals on 25 September 2019. This marked the fourth anniversary of the 193 supporting member countries signing the Sustainable Development Goals. While UOW had already been working toward the SDGs through its research priorities and operations, the signing reaffirmed UOW’s commitment to support, advocate for and continue to work toward this important global agenda.

UOW is a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a global initiative to implement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change through education, research, policy analysis, and global cooperation. Membership of the SDSN aligns with UOW’s longstanding commitment to research that tackles the world’s most pressing challenges, both locally and globally.

“When diverse organisations work together collaboratively with a common goal, we can tackle and overcome large and complex social, environmental and economic problems. The SDSN offers the opportunity to work with like-minded partners to create greater levels of innovation and deliver positive impact, locally, nationally and globally.” 

Professor Jennifer L. Martin AC FAA, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation)

Dr Belinda Gibbons is building greater awareness of the SDGs in industry and business education. Dr Gibbons is the sole academic representative for Australia and New Zealand on the United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education Advisory Committee. She represents business higher education institutions in Southern Asia and the Pacific, and collaborates with other country committee members to direct responsible management education internationally. The Advisory Committee’s strategy for integrating the UN’s principles for responsible and sustainable business practices has been rolled out in more than 650 business education institutions across 85 countries. 

• UOW ran the panel on Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for Sustainability and organised the conference stream on
• ‘Partnerships for Sustainable Development’
• Unpacking the Sustainable Development Goals’, a forum held at the Novotel Wollongong in and convened by Healthy Cities Illawarra, La Trobe University and UOW.
• UOW academics have participated in ‘We’re all in
• this together: Pursuing the SDGs in Wollongong and Shellharbour’ with Healthy Cities Illawarra
• UOW Centre for Critical Human Rights Research held a national workshop on the United Nations SDG in the Asia-Pacific Region.
• UOW in 2018 and 2019 partnered with the SDG Action Network to hold a #ACT4SDG event celebrating the 4th anniversary of the SDGs.
• Hosted ‘National workshop on the United Nations SDG in the Asia-Pacific Region’ hosted by UOW Centre for Critical Human Rights Research 
  
  
  

UOW provides interdisciplinary subjects that are built upon the theoretical foundation of the UN Global Compact and map Principles for Responsible Management Education and SDG education research across disciplines. The United Nations Association of Australia Sustainable Development Goals Scholarship is available for undergraduates who are actively working on or promoting the UN SDGs. The SDG Subject Portfolio committee is ensuring that UOW has a portfolio of undergraduate subjects that will develop knowledge and skills relevant to  the UN SDGs. The initiative will ensure subjects will develop interdisciplinary approaches where students are working on real world, project-based coursework. 

• UOW published 8010 journal articles on the SDGs in the last decade (2009-2019).
• 33% of all UOW publications addressed an SDG between 2009 and 2019.
• 4400 organisations currently collaborating with UOW from community, university, government and industry.

Figure: Percentage of UOW published journal articles on the SDGs in the last decade (2009-2019). Colour = SDG 1-16.