Fudan releases Action Report of Higher Education in China about SDGs

Fudan University recently released the Action Report of Higher Education in China about SDGs, which reflects how universities in China have implemented sustainable development goals set by the United Nations in 2015 following their research.

Based on quantitative data, the report reviews the progress and achievements that Chinese higher education has made in the implementation of the 2030 sustainable development agenda from 2016 to 2020, centered around its 17 sustainable development goals, including poverty alleviation, public health, life health, quality education, green development and climate change.

The report was published during a panel discussion on higher education at the 2021 Shanghai Forum, which saw the participation of eminent scholars from around the world from Oct 29-31. Wu Libo, the director of Fudan's development and planning office, was invited to give an introduction of the report.

The action report first analyses the only collection of SDG archives currently available, with a focus on high-profile papers, the top 10 percent of cited papers, in each of the goals in order to evaluate the research performance by Chinese universities from a new perspective.

For the past five years, Fudan has been providing technological support and solutions in SDGs by publishing a total of 49,000 papers and 1,100 consultation reports in this field－nearly 30 percent of the papers were results of collaboration between nations.

Svein Stolen, rector of the University of Oslo, said via video link that the wide range of academic disciplines gives comprehensive universities the advantages to study sustainable development.

He that said in the future, the University of Oslo will launch prospective research through the cooperation of researchers and practitioners to promote the transition of the society toward more climate and environment-friendly approaches.

The action report then compiles typical cases of the efforts made by Chinese universities as they strive to achieve sustainable development in such areas as talent cultivation, scientific research, social contributions and international cooperation.

The report also tries to educate the public about the philosophy of sustainable development by inviting renowned scholars in carbon neutrality to share their insights and observations.

The evidence shows that Chinese researchers have made substantial contributions to the implementation of a sustainable development strategy as the number of Chinese SDG papers (2016-20) ranked second in the world with momentum increasing sharply.

The top three countries with the most research papers published on SDGs were the United States with more than 1.07 million papers, China with 942,835 papers, and the United Kingdom with 331,086 papers.

Of the studies done by Chinese researchers, health and well-being and clean energy enjoy the highest number of research results. While clean drinking water, clean energy, sustainable cities and climate action are areas with leading research activities.

As a center for talents cultivation, innovation and for professionals Chinese universities are playing a key role in achieving SDGs.

Jin Li, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and newly appointed president of Fudan University, delivered a keynote speech during the 2021 Shanghai Forum. He said that talents cultivation, scientific research, commitment to society and global cooperation were the four aspects of the university's practice of promoting SDGs.

Fudan University strives to fulfill its responsibility as a world-class establishment, improving the quality of talent cultivation and its contributions to scientific research. It sent 511 medical workers to Hubei province in 13 groups during last year's initial outbreak of COVID-19 and helped Yongping county in Yunnan province with its poverty alleviation.

The university gives top priority to cultivating talents devoted to both serving the people and making the world a better place through SDGs achievements.

It puts emphasis on frontier areas of sustainable development by setting up research platforms such as the Development Institute, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Shanghai Institute for Major Infectious Disease& Bio-safety and Shanghai Strategic Institute for Energy and Carbon Neutrality.

Zhang Xing and Xia Tianyi contributed to this story.