Carnegie Mellon released today its second Voluntary University Review of how the university's education, research and practice align with the Sustainable Development Goals. This year, an interdisciplinary student trio proved instrumental in several new and emerging ways to communicate CMU's efforts at creating a sustainable future.
Student interns Bobuchi Ken-Opurum, Khushi Nandgaonkar and Peter Wu put varying skillsets to work, and through their partnership — which is incidentally goal 17 — created new tools to map and display how classes and initiatives across CMU are related to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (the SDGs or the Global Goals).
Last year, Carnegie Mellon completed a first-of-its kind Voluntary University Review benchmarking its efforts in adopting the United Nation's approach. The initial version, of what will be an annual report at CMU, was enlightening but suggested that an ongoing and interactive process would provide more valuable information.
"Using the framework of the goals, we want to help members of the CMU community make more informed choices about their classes and research activities, and to see how the university's activities are contributing to this ambitious global agenda," said Alexandra Hiniker, executive fellow for Sustainability Initiatives. "These talented students — Bobuchi, Khushi and Peter — are central to creating new ways to engage with sustainability at CMU."