Call for Submissions: January 2026 SDG Publication

SDG 4 • Quality Education | SDG 7 • Affordable & Clean Energy

We are pleased to invite submissions for the January 2026 edition of the SDGs@UofT Monthly Publication. Each issue highlights a pair of Sustainable Development Goals through interdisciplinary, justice-focused, and student-driven perspectives.

Our January theme brings together two fundamental pillars of sustainable development: SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 7 (Affordable & Clean Energy).

Theme Overview: Where Education Meets Clean Energy

Although SDG 4 and SDG 7 address distinct domains, their impacts are deeply intertwined.

Education relies on consistent, affordable, and clean energy to support learning environments, digital access, safe facilities, and community infrastructure. Likewise, clean energy transitions depend on education, skills development, and knowledge-sharing to innovate, adapt, and sustain equitable energy systems.

Exploring these SDGs together offers a powerful lens for understanding how knowledge, sustainability, accessibility, and justice shape development outcomes. This issue invites students to critically examine these connections and imagine new pathways for achieving both goals in tandem.

Types of Submissions Accepted

We welcome a wide range of contributions, including:

Short commentaries or reflections (200–400 words)
Course-related insights
Policy or research briefs
Visuals, infographics, or data walk-throughs
Creative work (art, photography, poetry, digital media)
Mini think-pieces or student op-eds

Submissions from all disciplines are encouraged. Formal academic writing is not required, clarity, creativity, and thoughtful engagement with the theme are valued.

Suggested Angles:

What “quality education” means in different global or local contexts
How clean energy access relates to equity, climate justice, or public health
The role of education in driving sustainability or supporting just transitions
Barriers to learning caused by energy poverty or infrastructural inequity
Examples of how SDG 4 and SDG 7 intersect in real-world communities

Guiding Questions: Integrating SDG 4 & SDG 7

To support contributors, we offer optional guiding questions that bring the two SDGs together. Students may respond directly to one question or use them to shape their submission:

How does access to clean, affordable energy affect the ability of communities to learn, teach, and engage with education systems?
What does “quality education” look like in contexts where energy systems are unreliable or inaccessible?
In what ways can education drive innovation in clean energy or contribute to more equitable energy transitions?
Where do colonial histories or structural inequities link challenges in education and energy access?
What might an integrated, justice-centred approach to SDG 4 and SDG 7 look like in practice?
Where do you see promising or inspiring examples of education and clean energy reinforcing one another?

Submission Details

Deadline: December 20, 2025
Format: Google Doc, PDF, or high-resolution image
Submit through the link provided below

Click here to submit your work!