Sustainable Development Goal Research Day

Date

Wednesday March 20, 2024
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Location

Mitchell Hall, Rose Event Commons

Everyone is invited to the Sustainable Development Goal Research Day sponsored by the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs and the Office of the Vice-Provost, Global Engagement.

Graduate students and Postdoctoral Fellows will present their research on topics relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Many of the talks have a focus on Developing Countries.

 Light refreshments will be served.

 

17 Rooms Secretariat Webinar: Advancing SDGs on campus using the 17 Rooms approach

Date

Monday March 4, 2024
10:00 am - 11:00 am

If you are interested in understanding more about how 17 Rooms-X can help support community-led action for people and the planet, please join us for an upcoming event, Advancing SDGs on Campus using the 17 Rooms approach, on Monday, March 4, from 10:00 to 11:00 am EST.

Held during University Global Coalition’s SDG Action and Awareness Week and SDG Week Canada, the session will feature 17 Rooms organizers and participants, including:

  • Aanuoluwa Adiji, Federal University of Technology Akure (Nigeria), Millennium Fellowship campus director
  • Ifeoluwa Bodunde, Lead City University (Nigeria), University Global Coalition Room 2
  • Garv Jain, Fairfax County Public Schools (United States)
  • Sophie Javers, University of California Davis (United States), University Global Coalition Room 2
  • Melody Nguyen, Pace University (United States), Millennium Fellowship campus director

Register here for the Zoom event.

Recent 17 Rooms highlights

  • The 2023 17 Rooms flagship synthesis report was released in December. It celebrates ideas and actions from the annual flagship cohort, which convened more than 320 people worldwide. You can read all the Room action summaries here.
  • Millennium Fellows at 50 campuses worldwide have been adapting 17 Rooms as part of their program curriculum. Learn more about these efforts on Friday, March 8 at 10:00 am ET when the undergraduate students share their learnings during 17 Rooms Campus Coalition for Global Goals. RSVP here.
  • The GivingTuesday global network led local 17 Rooms-X summits in seven countries – Cote d’Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Pakistan – to amplify their generosity campaigns and increase action towards the SDGs. Watch GivingTuesday Nigeria's 17 Rooms highlight video here!
  • The Community Foundation of Puerto Rico, with support from the University of the Sacred Heart Sustainable Development Program, organized a 17 Rooms summit on November 17 to help launch their Voluntary Local Review.
  • Future Earth launched a “deep dive” 17 Rooms series to help catalyze and advance SDG-relevant collaborations across their transdisciplinary global research network. Their 17 Rooms will come together to share out findings at the annual Sustainability Research and Innovation congress this June in Finland.
  • 17 Rooms-X McGill (Canada) efforts are now underway! McGill students are organizing a series of eight Rooms over the next two months to advance interdisciplinary, intra-university action across all SDGs.

Upcoming 17 Rooms-X

Do you have an idea about how 17 Rooms-X could be used in your community? If so, you can submit your idea here anytime! The Secretariat reviews these ideas on a rolling basis.
 

Collaborating for Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: Advancing SDG 16 Research at Queen’s

Date

Thursday March 7, 2024
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Location

Mitchell Hall, Rose Event Commons

Queen’s researchers are promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, championing access to justice for all, and exploring how to build more effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions.

Faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend this informal in-person networking event centered around SDG 16 research, hosted by the Office of the Principal and the Office of the Vice-Principal (Research), to meet with likeminded scholars, share information and opportunities about research, and to celebrate our collective progress towards the SDGs.

Enjoy a coffee or tea, spark conversations, make connections for collaborations, and contribute to the advancement of the SDGs at Queen’s and beyond.

To register, please complete this form.

This event is a part of Queen’s University’s participation in #SDGWeekCanada, a nation-wide commitment to mobilizing the #SDGs across campuses.

Collaborating for Reduced Inequalities: Advancing SDG 10 Research at Queen’s

Date

Tuesday March 5, 2024
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Location

Mitchell Hall, Rose Event Commons

Queen’s researchers are breaking down barriers, enhancing equality and accessibility, and shifting the narrative for a more inclusive future.

Faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend this informal in-person networking event centered around SDG 10 research, hosted by the Office of the Principal and the Office of the Vice-Principal (Research), to meet with likeminded scholars, share information and opportunities about research, and to celebrate our collective progress towards the SDGs.

Enjoy a coffee or tea, spark conversations, make connections for collaborations, and contribute to the advancement of the SDGs at Queen’s and beyond.

To register, please complete this form.

This event is a part of Queen’s University’s participation in #SDGWeekCanada, a nation-wide commitment to mobilizing the #SDGs across campuses.

 

How to Change the World student webinar: Why every career (urgently) needs a sustainability lens

Date

Tuesday March 5, 2024
6:00 pm - 6:50 pm

The vast majority of corporate leaders now expect that all of their employees will need sustainability knowledge and skills within the next two decades. That’s because companies today are embracing ambitious sustainability targets like never before… but only 17% of those companies say their employees currently have the knowledge and skills needed to hit those targets. If you’re not learning how to apply the knowledge and skills of your degree to tackle real-world sustainability challenges, then you’re missing out on the biggest career opportunities of the next two decades!

In this interactive webinar for students, How to Change the World co-founders Alana Heath and (Queen’s alum) Jason Blackstock will frame why sustainability has rapidly become the ‘fourth foundational skill set’ for a successful career; and they’ll provide practical advice on how everyone – from accountants to artists to aerospace engineers – can rapidly develop a sustainability lens for their future career.

Register here for this interactive webinar focused on why every career (urgently) needs a sustainability lens!

This event is a part of Queen’s University’s participation in #SDGWeekCanada, a nation-wide commitment to mobilizing the #SDGs across campuses.

Laptop on a desk with virtual meeting

How to Change the World envisions a world in which every person is empowered and supported to create positive, sustainable impact throughout their careers. Their programs provide practical, real-world experience that empowers you with the skills you need to build a greener, more equitable future. 

How to Change the World has partnered with Smith Engineering at Queen’s since 2020 to give students access to its experiential sustainability Courses and Bootcamps.

Read more about their story here

A man and woman's professional headshots

Queen’s alum, Prof Jason Blackstock FRSA, is the founder and CEO of How to Change the World, and co-founder of We Make Change. Jason’s previous experience spans quantum physics research; Silicon Valley tech development; global policy advising and research on sustainability, technology & innovation; and higher education innovation & leadership. Since the mid-noughties he has taught, provided policy advice and led research from universities and think tanks such as Harvard, Oxford, the Centre for International Governance Innovation, and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. From 2013-2018 Jason was the Founding Head of UCL STEaPP, and he continues to serve as an Adjunct Professor or Fellow at a number of top academic institutions, while also serving as director or advisory board member for numerous organisations.

Alana Heath is the co-founder of How to Change the World. Alana’s previous experience includes over a decade mobilising business as a force for good in sectors such as financial inclusion, energy access and sustainability. She has worked across the US, Europe, India and East Africa with social enterprises, nonprofits and impact investing funds such as Grassroots Capital Management, the Microfinance Information Exchange and SunFunder, and as a consultant on World Bank projects. In 2012 Alana co-founded Alta Solar, a non-profit introducing solar technology to villages in the Himalayan mountain range in Ladakh (northern India), and in 2016 she co-founded Ara Energy, a venture researching access to energy in East Africa partnership with Factore[e] Ventures.

 

Buzzing with Flavour: A Honey Tasting and Celebration of Pollinators

Date

Thursday March 7, 2024
11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Location

Ban Righ Dining Hall

Enjoy a tasting of Queen’s Bees Honeyproduced from our west campus apiary at All-You-Care-To-Eat lunch (door rate applies if not on a meal plan) on Thursday, March 7, 2024. 

This living lab advances SDGs 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities and 15 - Life on Land as it supports experiential learning and local food production while improving the campus ecosystem and increasing awareness of environmental sustainability within the community.  

Various recipes in the dining hall will use Queen’s Bees Honey, including fresh baked goods.

An arm and hand holding a jar of Queen's Bees Honey

 

Innovation in Motion webinar: Transformation in Today's World

Date

Tuesday February 27, 2024
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

As a great lead-in to SDG Week Canada at Queen's, the Centre for Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Social Impact at the Smith School of Business will begin hosting a monthly webinar called Innovation in Motion. These 60-minute webinars will explore transformation in times of drastic change and will feature a panel of leaders, experts, and researchers across many disciplines and sectors. 

The first, on February 27th at 12:00 pm EST, will explore Transformation in Today's World with panelists: Krishna Burra - Director of Education, Limestone District School Board, Natalie Beavis - Director, Cardiovascular/Stroke, Medicine and Ethics, Peterborough Regional Health Centre, and Morgan Lehtinen PhD - Founder & Director of Commercialization, Reaction (RXN) HUB.

Learn about the barriers that exist in education, health care and chemtech and the dynamic stories of innovation that have opened the door to new beginnings. Innovation is at the very core of progress - are you ready to catalyze positive change?

Link to register. 

Innovation in Motion event details and three circles with photos of speakers inside

 

Virtual student Q&A session on university finances

Date

Monday February 12, 2024
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Students are invited to join Patrick Deane, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Matthew Evans, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic), and Donna Janiec, Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration) virtually on Monday, February 12 from 6-7 pm for a student Q&A session on university finances.  

Q&A will be moderated by Queen's Rector Owen Crawford-Lem.

Please register here for an event link to join. 

 

R4R@Q - Research and the Sustainable Development Goals

Date

Tuesday February 6, 2024
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Location

DDQIC Rose Event Commons, Mitchell Hall

At the heart of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. Queen’s research is driving progress on many of the SDGs, with Queen’s recently ranked 3rd in the world and 1st in Canada and North America in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, which assess how universities are advancing the UN SDGs within and beyond their local communities. This panel will bring together four researchers from different disciplines who are leading the way in addressing SDGs.

This is an in-person only event.

Presenters:

Benjamin Bolden (Faculty of Education)

Colleen Davison (Public Health Sciences)

Kevin De France (Chemical Engineering)

Warren Mabee (School of Policy Studies)

Moderator:

Heather Aldersey (School of Rehabilitation Therapy and Special Advisor to the Principal on UN SDGs)

 

Resources for Research at Queen’s (R4R@Q)

The Vice-Principal Research (VPR) Portfolio is proud to present R4R@Q.

Queen’s greatly values the incredible contributions of our researchers and their teams on the local, national and international stages. But you are not alone! Queen’s offers a myriad of services to help researchers develop the best possible roadmap to success from project conception through to knowledge mobilization. To learn more, please join us for R4R@Q.

R4R@Q is here to acquaint Queen's researchers with the resources and people who are here to help.

To learn about future events and access recordings of past sessions, visit the website.

Questions?

Questions? Email Catarina Chagas  catarina.chagas@queensu.ca

Statement regarding the Queen’s budget

It is unusual for a leader of a university to post a statement publicly regarding coverage of the institution in national news. That being said, it is imperative at this point for me to set the record straight. Anyone reading this will likely have seen headlines suggesting Queen’s is losing its position as a top tier institution and may be under threat of financial ruin. I can assure you none of this is true. While the current financial situation for Queen’s poses challenges, the same is true for most postsecondary institutions in Ontario.

Article Category