DE MONTFORT University has been collaborating on the world stage into best practice on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since their inception a decade ago.
DMU was the very first university in the world to be awarded global academic hub status by the United Nations for one of the SDGs in 2019 – Goal 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
The university was awarded a second three-year term as the global hub for SDG 16 in 2022. In late 2024, DMU was appointed as the global academic hub chair for SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities starting in January 2025.
The United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) expanded its global hub programme for the 2025-2028 period and each SDG hub will have a chair leading three other universities specialising in research; outreach and partnership; and teaching.
DMU is the only university in the UK to ever have been a global academic hub and one of only two in the world to hold the position from 2019 until now.
One of the main requirements of a global academic hub chair is to share the best practice on its SDG with the rest of the world and that process continued throughout 2024.
Head of DMU’s SDG Impact Hub Associate Director Dr Mark Charlton said: “The sharing of best practice in the SDGs is an aspect of the global hub chair status that is of the most fundamental importance to us.
“Apart from the reports we provide to the UNAI and other UN organisations, we are regularly sharing best practice on the SDGs gathered from our collaborators to others around the world.
“This can be from attending conferences, such as the first ever meeting of all SDG global hubs in Greece during 2024, to regular meetings online and in-person with fellow universities and other NGOs throughout the world.”
This has included reporting on the progress of SDG projects, the sharing of academic papers and also the future direction of SDG policy.
DMU was in involved in discussions throughout 2024 with UN officials on the future for the expanded global academic hub programme that will come into operation in January 2025.
These talks came on the back off DMU’s participation at the COP 28 climate talks in Dubai, when the university was the only one in Europe to have a dedicated pavilion in the Blue Zone, where world leaders, experts and official observers meet.
DMU’s delegation of official observers – academics and researchers in climate change – took part in discussions and action plans on SDG 13 Climate Action.
University senior leaders also meet with government officials from Britain, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria and the King of Malawi during the conference in December 2023 - the 2023/4 academic year – and the talks included best practice on the SDGs, particularly Goal 16.