Universitas Gadjah Mada, through the University Quality Assurance and Reputation Unit, organized a workshop on sustainable development on Friday (21/7). This aligns with UGM’s commitment to continuously move towards a sustainable campus through collaborative efforts.
The workshop aims to strengthen sustainable collaborations within the UGM community and multisectoral partnerships with external stakeholders to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It also serves as an effort to enhance UGM’s international reputation in the global rankings related to SDGs, such as the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings and UI GreenMetric.
“When we talk about SDGs, it’s not just about our ranking in SDGs, but how we truly build ourselves in various ways to make it our identity,” explained the Vice-Rector for Education and Learning, Professor Wening Udasmoro, in her speech.
The SDGs are a set of 17 global goals established by the United Nations to address economic and social development issues in the face of the “Agenda 2030.”
For higher education institutions, contributing to SDGs is one way to create added value in promoting growth, mitigating risks, mobilizing resources, and focusing on teaching, research, and community service objectives.
“Higher education institutions are asked to contribute to the world’s future development, not only for humans but also for nature. Our task is to build our identity based on SDGs–what we have done for humanity,” added the vice-rector.
Professor Udasmoro hopes the UGM community can incorporate SDGs into various activities. According to her, this is essential to respond to multiple disruptions and changes in the global context.
“The changing environment brings various impacts. SDGs should be our common mindset because it is our and our children’s futures. We should not bequeath a tragedy to our children,” she said.
During this occasion, representatives from all faculties and units within UGM discussed the activities carried out in pursuit of SDGs and the action plans for the future.
“We hope this workshop will result in several guiding principles for UGM,” stated the Head of the University Quality Assurance and Reputation Unit, Professor Indra Wijaya Kusuma.
Author: Gloria