Carnegie Mellon University students with a passion for public service are learning analytical skills and management strategies through the lens of the world's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global initiative aimed at addressing challenges such as reducing inequality, tacking corruption, eliminating poverty and hunger, and delivering quality education.
Sarah Mendelson, a Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy and head of the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy's Washington, D.C., program, said that the SDGs help frame education that students receive.
"Through working with partner organizations on the SDGs, CMU students have a unique opportunity to approach problem solving for local and global issues," Mendelson said. "With these capstone projects, students help influence how problems are framed while also developing skills and knowledge to solve some of the world's most pressing problems."
Kait Pendrak is one of those students. After interning and working for the City of Pittsburgh, she joined the Master of Science in Public Policy & Management program's D.C. track (MSPPM-DC). While pursuing her degree, she returned to the city to help create their inaugural voluntary local review, a process where local governments assess their alignment to the SDGs.
"One great thing about going back to an organization that you have history with is that they trust you and they're willing to give you experience and responsibility," said Pendrak. "I had conversations with the City of Pittsburgh's Sustainability and Resiliency division in the spring when they were planning to start their review. Eventually, they brought me on to design and facilitate the process."
Pendrak worked to create an audit of city programs and met with city personnel as part of the process. She completed her work in August, and Pittsburgh released the report in November.
The second year of the Heinz D.C. track has students working in the nation's capital as fellows during the day and taking courses at night. Now, Pendrak is working at the Brookings Institution, consistently rated among the the world's top think tanks, which has worked with CMU on a number of initiatives related to the SDGs.
CMU's Sustainability Initiative reflects its own longstanding efforts and commitments to addressing society's most pressing needs.