Nina Bindra, a third-year student double majoring in Psychology and Sociology, joins the inaugural cohort of 30 students chosen from 200 applicants to participate in the Association of Pacific Rim Universities’ SDG Education for Global Citizenship program (SDG4GC).
The intercultural, transdisciplinary, and interactive program fosters global citizenship among students from 60 universities in 19 economies across the Pacific Rim. Co-designed by six core-partner universities in collaboration with the United Nations (UN), the program builds knowledge of global issues and global literacy among students through the framework of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“I am honored and excited to be in the inaugural cohort of this program. I look forward to learning from the distinguished UN and APRU faculty, as well as the mentors and fellow students,” said Bindra. “I will work hard to make my university proud throughout the program and will represent our core principles in the innovation competition!”
Through winter quarter, students will engage in lectures and workshops on design thinking and cross-cultural communication, undertake the UN SDG primer course, receive mentorship from faculty members and design thinking experts from the program’s core partners, and work in teams of students from across 27 APRU member universities to develop a solution to address a challenge on this year’s theme Shaping the Future of Health and Wellbeing.
In March 2023, the teams will present their social innovation prototypes in a pitching competition and the winning team will be invited to spend a week in Bangkok to undertake training at Chulalongkorn University’s Innovation Hub, go on field trips to spin-off companies and startups in rural communities to learn innovative practices, and participate in a key United Nations event in Bangkok.
Through UC Santa Cruz’s membership with the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), UCSC students have the opportunity to participate in special programs like SDG4GC as well as the Online Course Exchange, and a variety of other co-curricular programming opportunities offered by APRU member institutions throughout the year.
Increasing opportunity and access to global learning is key to our Strategic Plan for Internationalization.