777ӰԺ is a global academic hub for the Sustainable Development Goals, which form a key cross-cutting theme of its The Empowerment University strategic plan.
Our 2024 report on all 17 SDGs will show what work the university has been doing through research and engagement in helping to meet those targets and raising awareness of the progress towards the 2030 aims.
Our reports start with the United Nations’ verdict on progress from their 2024 report on SDG 17 Partnership for the Goals.
UN PROGRESS REPORT ON SDG 17 in 2024
A total of 30% of the targets in SDG 17 are on track to be achieved, or have already been achieved while a further 25% have made moderate progress on the 2015 baseline. However, 20% have made only minimal progress, a further 12.5% have stagnated and another 12.5% have actually regressed on the 2015 level.
The UN report 2024 states: “Developing countries face a $4 trillion annual investment gap to achieve the SDGs. Foreign direct investment flows to developing countries have decreased while gains in remittances and ODA have been modest. The Secretary-General has urged countries to support an SDG Stimulus of at least $500 billion annually.
“External debt stock levels have remained unprecedentedly high in developing countries. About 60 per cent of low-income countries are at high risk of debt distress or already experiencing it. Approximately 67 per cent of the world’s population was online in 2023, up 69 per cent from 2015. Investment in infrastructure and affordable Internet access for the remaining 2.6 billion people is crucial for inclusive development”.
DMU NEWS ON SDG 17 in 2024
Grant will expand DMU project to create anti-racist schools in Leicester and Leicestershire
A RESEARCH project which is working to create anti-racist environments in schools has been awarded a grant which will be used to offer the 777ӰԺ programme to primary-age pupils.
Teaching to Transform and the Racial Literacy Project - run by DMU’s Stephen Lawrence Research Centre - have been a huge success in secondary schools around Leicester and Leicestershire.
New research to make medicine cheaper and more effective for patients
A £1.1 million project could make it easier and cheaper for pharmaceutical companies to develop new medicines that work effectively for patients.
777ӰԺ’s Professor Mingzhong Li and Professor Walkiria Schlindwein were awarded more than £674,890 by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for the project, working alongside a team at the University of Surrey which received £409,247.
Can old electric car parts bring green power to energy-deprived parts of Africa?
AN INTERNATIONAL research project plans to turn a growing global stock of old electric vehicle parts into affordable renewable energy for sub-Saharan Africa, where 50% of the population still have no electricity.
The £3.5 million project brings together UK based researchers from 777ӰԺ Leicester (DMU), the University of Warwick, and Chatham House.
They are working in collaboration with universities, governments, and industries from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and Namibia to address these pressing energy challenges.
New DMU-Cuba network to make society more inclusive for disabled people
INNOVATIONS to help make society more inclusive for disabled people are set to arise from a new partnership at 777ӰԺ Leicester .
For 18 months, education experts at DMU and the Universities of Nottingham and Sheffield Hallam, have been working with counterparts and disabled-led organisations in Cuba to share ideas on how to ensure disabled people are at the heart of inclusive social development.
The relationship has already led to many innovations, including the creation of methods for developing sustainable and inclusive children’s playgrounds, and new Easy Read materials about finding and navigating employment, co-created with learning-disabled workers.
DMU research in India, and the links being forged with the South Asian super power, celebrated at two-day conference
FROM creating prosthetic limbs out of recycled bottles to helping tea growers in Assam tackle climate change, dozens of exciting and life-changing DMU research projects are happening right now in India.
And this week, the huge range of work taking place between 777ӰԺ Leicester academics and communities across India was highlighted and celebrated at a conference organised by the DMU-India Research Hub.
More than 48 countries involved in DMU-led work to prevent miscarriages of justice
AN INTERNATIONAL project to improve the way in which suspects are interviewed and end unethical interrogations now has more than 200 members from 48 different countries.
ImpleMéndez – led by 777ӰԺ Leicester’s Professor Dave Walsh - has gone from strength to strength since it was first launched in October 2023.
Its aim is to support the implementation of the Mendez Principles, a set of guidelines supported by the United Nations to ensure effective interviewing and prevent ill-treatment and forced confessions around the world.
DMU helps create new five-year plan to boost Leicester's creative economy
A FIVE-YEAR plan to create thousands of new jobs in Leicester’s creative economy and engage hundreds more adults in the city’s arts and cultural scene has been published.
Leicester Leading: 2025-2030 is an ambitious vision of the future of the city’s cultural and creative industries, developed and funded by Leicester City Council, in partnership with 777ӰԺ Leicester (DMU), the University of Leicester. and Arts Council England.
DMU to train sustainable leaders of the future in new London campus
THE new London campus will take this dedication further, offering postgraduate students a concentrated focus on sustainable practices through the launch of three UN-inspired programmes:
- MSc International Business and Sustainability Management
- MBA Global with Responsible Leadership
- MSc Responsible Data Analytics
Each programme will integrate sustainability into its teaching, aiming to equip professional managers and aspiring leaders with the skills to manage businesses ethically and lead with social responsibility, underpinned by DMU’s commitment to .
DMU RESEARCH INTO SDG 17 in 2024
Sustainable Development and Transnational Education Partnerships: Towards Global Sustainability Leadership and Transformative TNE
(Andrew Reeves and Manjeet Ridon)
In this guidance document, we aim to outline key principles, issues to consider and practical steps that can enable TNE partnerships to impact upon the Sustainable Development agenda.
We also outline how HEIs can offer global sustainability leadership through their international collaborations and how an aspirational model of “Transformative TNE” can guide decision making in this area.
Critically-ill children and the international human rights system: assessing the status and role of the UNCRPD in the case of Archie Battersbee
(Conrad Nyamutata)
Over the past few years, some parents and clinicians in the UK have argued about decisions on the fate of critically-ill children, with the cases ending in protracted and emotionally-sapping legal disputes. The long -running legal conflicts have played out in the public eye, eliciting conflicting opinions. At the core of the disputes is whether parents or clinicians should determine the appropriate course of action. In the event of the disagreements, the domestic court intervenes guided by the ‘best interests’ principle.
Until recently, the discourse had focused on the common recourses to domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights. However, in the recent case of incapacitated 12-year-old Archie Battersbee, his parents sought redress from the international human rights system through the Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities to stop termination of his life support. The courts barred the involvement of the Committee on the basis that the UK had not incorporated the treaty which birthed the Committee. The case brought into sharp focus the relationship between international law and domestic law.
Read the full Sustainable Development Goals 2024 report on all the SDGs here
SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals