2018•03•27 Tokyo
On 13 March 2018, UNU-IAS hosted a reporting session for the Grant for Global Sustainability (GGS), consisting of a final reporting for the first term of GGS (2015-2017) and an initial progress report for the second term of GGS (2017-2019).
In 2015, with generous support from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology in Japan, UNU-IAS launched this initiative to support research contributing to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
For the first term, Hiroshima University and Kyoto University implemented projects and, at this latest reporting session, presented their final findings from the three-year projects and received feedback. Final reports are available for download under the RELATED FILES tab. Each university also created a homepage dedicated to its project with further details on their activities and results.
Center for the Study of International Cooperation in Education, Hiroshima University
Project Title: Development of the Inclusive Education System Model for Learning Improvement in Developing Countries
Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University
Project Title: Enhancement of Urban Disaster Resilience through Activities of Local Participatory Platform
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In 2017, Nagoya University, Kyoto University, and Ibaraki University were selected to participate in the second term of GGS. At this reporting session, the initial progress of their activities were presented.
Nagoya University
Project Title: Knowledge and skills which lead to decent work: The development of a skills assessment module for TVET graduates and curriculum evaluation in developing countries
Presenters and reviewers discussed sampling numbers needed to develop a reliable and universal module, the importance of feedback to the data suppliers, a balance between quantitative and qualitative questions for the questionnaire, and data analysis methodology.
Graduate School of Agriculture, National University Corporation, Kyoto University
Project Title: Incorporation of biodiversity indicators into ecosystem-service forest certification towards achieving synergy between biodiversity conservation and sustainable forest use
The presenter reported the objective of the project is to simplify systems for technological use in developing countries in order to allow focus on capacity building for local sustainability rather than on technological development. The current implementation of skill and knowledge transfer to local partners and free information-sharing on technology usage within and outside Japan were discussed.
Ibaraki University
Project Title: Strategies for adaptation to sea level rise in urban atolls through conservation and rehabilitation of natural processes of island formation
Participants discussed the importance of a solution model and results which can be generalized and applied to other urban atolls with similar environmental issues. The importance of taking multiple approaches to SDGs achievement was emphasized, avoiding putting too much focus on engineering aspects of the project.