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UCL projects awarded funding in support of UN SDGs
9 February 2022
Through the Pathways to Achievement scheme 2021-22, almost £40,000 was awarded to five projects addressing the themes of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The call from UCL Grand Challenges, UCL Global Engagement and the UCL SDGs Initiative (SDGI), offered the opportunity for UCL-based researchers to secure support for research-related activities designed to hasten progress towards achieving the SDGs.
The grants support cross-disciplinary and cross-boundary projects that generate societal impacts leading to published reports. The achievement of the SDGs depends on implementation of international agreements, but progress in discussions towards such agreements is dependent on findings from high-quality, peer-reviewed research.
Supported projects under the call include those exploring solutions to global, national and local problems, and aim to raise awareness of the SDGs among UCL students - and ensure UCL’s own policies and operations actively contribute to attaining the Goals.
Simon Knowles, Head of Coordination (SDGs), said: “We received a high-quality selection of applications for this call, and I am pleased we could recognise the diverse activities at UCL helping to address the SDGs. The projects span UCL’s faculties and breadth of research, from work aiming to unravel socio-economic inequalities to promoting healthcare innovation. Congratulations to all.”
The UN SDGs: Pathways to Achievement funding recipients are:
| Lead UCL applicants and collaborators | Project |
|---|---|
| Professor Federico M. Federici, Centre for Translation Studies, CMII, SELCS (Arts & Humanities) and Mr Jason Symons, LEAR Global | Leaving No One Behind, Whatever Language they Speak: The Language Data Initiative |
| Dr Francesco Salustri, Institute for Global Health (Population Health Sciences) and Dr Paolo Candio, University of Birmingham | Unravelling the socio-economic inequalities in grassroot physical activity in England. |
| Professor Richard Taylor, Geography (Social & Historical Sciences) and Dr Mohammad Shamsudduha, UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (Mathematical & Physical Sciences) | Advancing and sustaining progress towards UN SDGs in African drylands – crossing disciplinary and international boundaries |
| Professor Jane Holder, Laws (Laws) and Mr John Dubber, Students' Union (Laws) | Digging for SDGs: Laying Foundations for Sustainability in the Higher Education Sector |
| Professor Mark Miodownik and Dr Ana Rita Pinho, both Mechanical Engineering (Engineering Sciences) | Promoting healthcare innovation with a “Dragon’s Den”-style competition through a virtual innovation platform. |
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