More Than Ethics: Why We Must Recover the Transformative Power of Theory 

When sustainability is discussed, the conversation almost always turns to action. We ask what governments should do, which policies should be adopted, how institutions should change, and what responsibilities individuals have toward future generations. These are indispensable questions, but I have become increasingly convinced that they rest on a deeper assumption that is rarely examined: our belief that the primary purpose of knowledge is to guide action. 

Coming from the history of modern philosophy and the philosophy of religion, I approach sustainability from a somewhat unusual angle. Rather than evaluating environmental policies or technological solutions, I am interested in what the sustainability agenda reveals about our understanding of the human being. In many respects, the Sustainable Development Goals reflect a broader cultural conviction about humanity's destination—what we are for and how we ought to shape the future. 

The scale of this commitment is undeniable. The European Union alone has pledged enormous investments through initiatives such as NextGenerationEU, Sustainable Finance, and the Just Transition Mechanism, while research funding increasingly prioritizes projects addressing social challenges. A similar tendency appears within the humanities. Looking at philosophy job advertisements and European research grants, one observes a striking predominance of ethics over more theoretical fields such as metaphysics, epistemology, or philosophy of language. 

This trend tells us something important. The dominant intellectual question today is no longer "What is true?" but "What should we do?". Increasingly, our universities, research programmes, and public institutions assume that the value of knowledge lies in its practical usefulness—its capacity to improve decision-making, solve problems, and generate measurable social outcomes. 

Interestingly, thinkers with radically different political commitments often share it. Ian Angus, writing from an eco-socialist perspective, argues that human reason is fundamentally concerned with identifying worthwhile ends rather than merely efficient means. Julian Simon, by contrast, celebrates human ingenuity as the ultimate resource driving prosperity and technological progress. Despite their profound disagreements, both understand the human being primarily as an agent whose defining characteristic is action. 

What if this shared assumption is itself part of the problem? 

I wonder whether our contemporary idea of progress has become inseparable from an excessive faith in human action. We celebrate progress whenever we become more efficient, more productive, or better equipped to intervene in the world. But perhaps a sustainable future requires us not simply to accelerate this model of progress but to mend it. Rather than assuming that theory exists to serve practice, we might recover the older conviction that the pursuit of truth possesses its own transformative power. 

The eighteenth-century notion of Bestimmung—usually translated as "destination," "vocation," or "determination"—offers a useful reminder. Before deciding where humanity ought to go, we must first ask what humanity is. Yet modern culture has gradually lost confidence in theoretical inquiry. Mathematics, philosophy, literature, and the arts are increasingly defended because they develop transferable skills or support innovation, not because they reshape the people who engage with them. 

For thinkers such as Hegel, this would have seemed an impoverished understanding of education. Art, religion, and philosophy were not luxuries detached from practical life; they were among the principal means by which individuals and societies transformed themselves. 

For this reason, I believe we need to rethink education at every level. Education is not primarily about producing better decision-makers. Its deeper purpose is to cultivate the capacity to recognize when action should give way to understanding. We have gradually lost faith in the idea that knowing the truth changes us. Instead, we increasingly value truth only insofar as it helps us achieve practical goals. 

Higher education reminds us of a different possibility. The university matters not simply because it prepares students for employment or innovation, but because it deliberately creates time away from ordinary life. It makes room for reflection, contemplation, and forms of inquiry that have no immediate practical purpose. Far from being a luxury, this suspension of utility is one of the university's greatest contributions to society. 

Perhaps we should not stop being students when we graduate. A sustainable future will require not only better policies and stronger ethical commitments, but also citizens willing to remain lifelong learners—people who continue to seek truth for its own sake. Recovering confidence in the transformative power of theoretical inquiry may be one of the most important, and most neglected, conditions for building a genuinely sustainable future. 

References 

Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-3C5pAagzw

Essays: 

Lecture Resources: Paolo Livieri

Paolo Livieri delivered the lecture "Vacating the Self: Reflections on Human Vocation in the Face of a Crisis" as part of the SDGs@UofT–IECS Visiting Scholars Program.

Drawing on philosophical traditions, Livieri examined the human being as a vocation-bearing agent and explored how creativity, purpose, and theoretical reflection can inform responses to contemporary ecological and societal crises. The lecture offers a unique perspective on sustainability, emphasizing the role of critical reflection in supporting meaningful action toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

Access the lecture slides and resources:
https://sdg.utoronto.ca/visitingscholars2026-outputs/

2026 SDGs-IECS Visiting Scholars

We are pleased to announce the 2026 SDGs-IECS Visiting Scholars.

The Visiting Scholars Program brings leading international researchers to U of T to advance interdisciplinary scholarship aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). During their visits, scholars engage with the U of T community through research collaboration, knowledge exchange, and public engagement. 

Visiting Scholars participate in a range of academic and community‑facing activities, including public lectures and seminars, research meetings, and discussion sessions with undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. They also contribute to knowledge mobilization through publications, discussion papers, policy briefs, and other knowledge products that support impact beyond the university. 

This group of visiting scholars reflects a diversity of disciplinary perspectives and global contexts, underscoring the program’s commitment to collaborative, solutions-oriented research on pressing sustainability challenges.

Visiting Scholars

Araceli Clavijo, Assistant Researcher, Institute for Non-Conventional Energy Research (INENCO) of CONICET, Argentina

Mike Hill, Professor of English, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Mark Kelly, Head of the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Centre for Sustainability, Ireland

Paolo Livieri, Research Fellow, Department of Cognitive Sciences, Psychology, Education, and Cultural Studies (COSPECS), University of Messina, Italy

Ivar Maas, Founder & Head of the Sustainability Office, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands

John Szabo, Research Fellow, Institute of World Economics at the Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungary

Araceli Clavijo, Institute for Non‑Conventional Energy Research (INENCO), CONICET Argentina 

Araceli Clavijo is a biologist with a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering and Risk Prevention from the University of Granada (Spain) and a PhD in Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina). She is currently an assistant researcher at the Institute for Non-Conventional Energy Research (INENCO) of CONICET in Argentina. Her research focuses on the water-energy nexus addressing water governance and territorial risk analysis, grounded in the fundamental pillars of sustainable development —equity, environmental sustainability and economic growth —from a Political Ecology perspective. She has specialized in highly vulnerable territories, particularly the Andean region, and the semi-arid Chaco, where she has studied land tenure conflicts, water access for indigenous communities and resource governance. Her main line of research is about energy transition and sustainability, with special emphasis on the analysis of socio-environmental impacts in the Lithium Triangle. With more than ten years of experience in Latin America, she has conducted research stays in EEUU, Israel and Spain, and is an active member of a global research network on energy transitions involving institutions in Canada, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Mexico and Spain. Her approach combines academic research with community-led initiatives and capacity-building for Indigenous and peasant organizations.  

Learn more about Araceli.

Mike Hill, University at Albany, State University of New York, United States 

Mike Hill is currently Professor of English at the University at Albany, SUNY, and has a long record of international teaching and research collaboration with colleagues in England, Scotland, Australia, Finland, Russia, Italy, Cambodia, and most recently, China. His current research is in the field of ecological humanities, particularly, issues of genre change, realism, and climate fiction. Hill has written on the relationship between war and “culture”; the non-economic writing of Adam Smith; U.S. race relations and whiteness; and public sphere theory.  His books to date are: On Posthuman War:  Computation and the Military Violence (University of Minnesota Press: 2022); The Other Adam Smith (Stanford University Press: 2015); After Whiteness: Unmaking an American Majority (New York University Press: 2004; Whiteness: A Critical Reader (New York University Press: 1997), which won the Gustavas Myers Award for Best Book of 1997; and Masses, Classes, and the Public Sphere (Verso: 2001). Hill’s current book in progress, Ecologies of War, focuses on climate change, fictional realism, and the rise of political violence.  He is also working on a volume called A Singular Voice: The Collected Works of Michael Sprinker (Bloomsbury: forthcoming), and an accompanying special issue for the journal, Decalage, on the legacies of Sprinker’s work  

Learn more about Mike.

Mark Kelly, Atlantic Technological University, Ireland 

Dr. Mark Kelly is the Head of the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Centre for Sustainability, co-lead of the ATU Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Academy, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Building and Civil Engineering, and lead of the ATU Build360 research group. He is currently on secondment with the Higher Education Authority (HEA) as the National Policy Advisor on ESD. Mark has over 25 years’ experience working in higher education and has led several research projects on construction and demolition waste management, resource efficiency, circular economy, and ESD. He is also an accredited Climate Fresk, Carbon Literacy, ‘SDGs to 2030 game, and Lego Serious Play for Higher Education facilitator. 

As part of the Visiting Scholars Program, Mark is particularly interested in sharing his ‘Sustainability Literacy to Leadership Learning Pathways’ framework for staff and students to evaluate its applicability within a range of contexts; explore the role of futures thinking and foresight at different institutional scales and study whole-of-institution approaches to sustainability, climate action/justice, and the SDGs. 

Learn more about Mark.

Paolo Livieri, Messina University, Italy 

I am currently a Research Fellow at the Department of Cognitive Sciences, Psychology, Education, and Cultural Studies (COSPECS) at the University of Messina, where my research bridges classical German philosophy and contemporary debates in metaphysics, philosophy of religion, and theories of consciousness.  

I hold a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion from McGill University and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Padova. My work focuses on Post-Kantian philosophy, especially Kant, Hegel, and Jacobi, with particular attention to metaphysics, the concept of existence, the problem of the definition of consciousness, and the relationship between faith and reason. I also engage contemporary phenomenology, 4E cognition, naturalistic ethics, and Japanese philosophy, including the Kyoto School.  

My recent publications include monographs on Hegel and Jacobi, as well as the first English translation of Jacobi’s On Divine Things and Their Revelation. I am currently under contract with Cambridge University Press for volumes on Hegel’s philosophy of religion and Platonism in classical German philosophy. 

Having held positions in Italy, Canada, Germany, Japan, and the UK, my research is intrinsically international and committed to fostering dialogue across philosophical traditions. 

Learn more about Paolo.

Ivar Maas, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands 

Ivar Maas is Head of Sustainability at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where he leads the implementation of the university’s sustainability strategy. He is also a PhD candidate at the Institute for Environmental Studies. His overarching research interest: What is the role of the university in times of the climate crisis? He approaches this question from the perspective of Environmental Psychology and uses both quantitative and qualitative research methods.   

His current research focuses on scientific activism and the perceived tension between scientific neutrality and advocacy. Should scientists contribute primarily by generating and communicating knowledge while maintaining an (assumed) neutral stance? Or does the urgency of the climate crisis justify more explicit forms of advocacy, protest, or even civil disobedience? He examines how scientists navigate these questions, with particular attention to the psychological drivers and barriers underlying engagement in scientific activism and advocacy.  

In addition, he works on deliberative democratic innovations, exploring the potential of Citizens’ Climate Assemblies within university settings. By examining factors such as perceived fairness, urgency, and legitimacy, his research investigates whether deliberative processes can foster broader institutional change and support for climate policy.  

His broader research interests include sustainability in higher education, sustainability governance, and organizational change management. 

Learn more about Ivar.

John Szabo, Institute of World Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungary 

John Szabo is a Research Fellow at the Institute of World Economics, CERS-ELTE and an Assistant Professor at the Department of Global and Development Studies, ELTE in Budapest. He recently completed a project on European hydrogen markets at DIW Berlin, prior to which he had worked on the role of hydrogen in the UK at Brunel University London. His work generally focuses on the historical role of gaseous energy carriers, including town gas, natural gas, and hydrogen. He has published extensively on the role of natural gas in the energy transition and the EU’s approach to constructing a hydrogen market. Through his work, he explores the relation between ideas and material forces, and has recently led inquiries on the construction of futures.  

Learn more about John.

Visiting Scholars Lecture Series & Outputs

The Visiting Scholars Lecture Series highlights presentations and knowledge outputs produced during scholars’ visits, including public lectures and slide decks shared with the U of T community.

View the lecture materials here: https://sdg.utoronto.ca/visitingscholars2026-outputs/

Tuition hikes, OSAP changes: Does it help or hurt students?

Following the Ontario government’s recently announced changes to tuition rates and the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), higher education policy researcher and SDGs@UofT Fellow Elizabeth Buckner joined CBC’s Ontario Today to discuss its impacts. A professor with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Buckner explored the shift in emphasis from grants to loans, how and which students will be affected and the impacts on the Ontario university sector.

Listen below.

Listen now!

Student Mobility Training Program

Student Mobility Training Program

Partnered with Mitacs’ Globalink Research Award, the application deadline is Thursday, February 12th, 2026, at 11:59PM ET.

Program Overview  

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Student Mobility Training Program aims to support top graduate students to conduct interdisciplinary research that advances knowledge and action on the United Nations’ 17 SDGs. The program seeks to provide opportunities for graduate students to work on research projects outside of their home discipline. Graduate students (master’s and PhD students) will work under the supervision of faculty fellows and affiliates with the SDGs@UofT at institutions around the world.   

This is a competitive 12-week research program for graduate students offered from May to August that will build a global network of trainees and researchers to collaborate on research that generate actionable insights to advance the SDGs and inform future global goals.  

This year, the Program has partnered with Mitacs’ Globalink Research Award to offer matching funds to eligible students who are working under the supervision of a principal investigator that is an SDGs@UofT affiliate or fellow. To apply, students must propose a project that is interdisciplinary and relevant to at least one of the 4 research themes of the SDGs ISI. Proposed projects should clearly demonstrate a connection to the SDGs and be conducted internationally. 

Deliverables 

Funding 

Students applying to the SDGs Student Mobility Program are eligible to apply for up to $6000 through Mitacs’s Globalink Research Award. Before applying for a Globalink Research Award, students are encouraged to review the program’s criteria and eligibility guidelines. To receive the Mitacs application materials, please reach out to Modupe Olufemi (molufemi@mitacs.ca) with a brief description about your project and be sure to mention that it is for the SDGs@UofT summer research award program. 

Students can request up to a total of up $2000 of matching funds to support the cost of travel, accommodation, meals and other incidental costs through the SDGs Student Mobility Program. Expenditures must align with the U of T’s Guide to Financial Management.  

SDGs Student Mobility Eligibility Criteria 

Eligible participants must be:  

How to Apply 

Applicants must complete an application form, a short proposal and submit their updated Curriculum Vitae (max. 5 pages) on the SDG ISI website. Applicants will need the following to complete the application template: 

  1. Project title 
  2. Project abstract (max. 200 words) 
  3. Research theme 
  4. Indicate which academic unit you are enrolled in: 
    • Applied science & engineering 
    • Architecture, landscape & design 
    • Arts & science
    • Dentistry 
    • Education
    • Information
    • Kinesiology & physical education
    • Law
    • Management
    • Medicine, nursing, public health 
    • Pharmacy 
    • Social Work 
    • University of Toronto Mississauga
    • University of Toronto Scarborough 
  5. Department/Program of Study 
  6. Supervisor name, department and fellow/affiliate status. Students are welcome to apply with their current academic supervisor who can sign up to become an affiliate here. 

Applicants should upload the following to the online form: 

  1. Complete application template outlining the following: 
    1. Background describing the rationale for the research and its alignment with the chosen SDG thematic area. (max 200 words) 
    2. Project objectives and research questions (max. 100 words) 
    3. Research design and methods (max. 250 words) 
    4. Project deliverables and timelines (max. 150 words) 
    5. Integration of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) considerations in research and research process (max. 100 words) 
    6. Knowledge Mobilization plan and anticipated significance of research (max. 300 words) 
  2. Letter of support from primary supervisor outlining student’s qualities, strengths, relevance of project to SDGs, merits in conducting research activities, and potential project impact  
  3. Completed budget template, including justification for funding requested. 
  4. References (max. 200 words)
  5. Abbreviated CV for student (max. 5 pages) 

Deadlines 

Applicants must ensure that their supervisor is affiliated with or a fellow of the SDGs@UofT initiative. Supervisors can easily sign up to become an affiliate here.  

Important Information for Outbound Students 

Before submitting an application, students are encouraged to review the U of T’s safety abroad requirements. U of T students participating in university activities outside of Canada will need to complete the following steps: 

Students are encouraged to review the resources available to them in an emergency.  

Call for Submissions: Student Voices for Sustainability

Student

Voices

For

sUSTAINABILITY

We are pleased to invite submissions to the SDGs@UofT 2026 Student Publication, titled Student Voices for Sustainability. Each issue highlights students’ work related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on interdisciplinary, justice-focused and student-driven perspectives on global and local sustainability challenges.

This call is open to submissions engaging any of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Contributors are welcome to focus on a single SDG in depth or explore intersections across multiple goals. We recognize that meaningful work is often grounded in a specific area of study or lived experience, and this publication aims to create space for both focused contributions and interdisciplinary dialogue where it naturally emerges.

Theme Overview:

Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals

The SDGs represent a shared global framework for advancing equity, sustainability, and collective well-being. From poverty eradication and gender equality to climate action, sustainable cities, health, peace, and partnerships, the goals reflect interconnected dimensions of development.

For this series, contributors may center any SDG(s) relevant to their work, research, community engagement, or lived experience. Whether your submission examines policy, practice, theory, creativity, or community initiatives, your perspective is welcome.

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 or infographics
  • 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 one or more SDGs are valued.

Creative Directions & Idea Starters

These are not requirements, but prompts to spark imagination and critical reflection. Your interpretation can be literal, abstract, symbolic, personal, or experimental.

  • What systems, inequalities, or environmental impacts are often unseen? Can you make them visible through your work (e.g., data translated into form, hidden labour, emotional burdens, extractive histories)?
  • Who embodies sustainable futures in your community? Whose care work, resistance, or leadership often goes unrecognized?
  • Imagine a future shaped by meaningful progress toward an SDG. What does it look like? Sound like? Feel like? Alternatively, what happens if progress stalls?
  • How are sustainability challenges experienced in the body, through heat, displacement, food insecurity, stress, migration, illness, resilience?
  • How do colonial histories, extraction, and land relations shape current sustainability issues? What would repair or reciprocity look like?
  • What does collective care look like in action? How are communities already practicing sustainable futures?
  • Reimagine campus or city spaces as sustainable, accessible, just environments. What would need to change? What already exists?

Submissions from all disciplines are encouraged. Formal academic writing is not required; clarity, creativity, and thoughtful engagement with one or more SDGs are valued.

Submission Details 

For full submission details, visit: https://sdg.utoronto.ca/student-voices-for-sustainability-submission-guidelines/

We look forward to showcasing diverse student perspectives that critically and creatively engage with the Sustainable Development Goals. Browse the digital archives of student voices here.

Student Fellowship Opportunity: Canada Excellence Research Chair Network

Student Fellowship Opportunity: Canada Excellence Research Chair Network for Equity in Sustainability Transitions

Work Period: One semester 
Stipend: $6,000 per term 
Positions Available: 1 

The Canada Excellence Research Chair Network for Equity in Sustainability Transitions (CERC NEST) aims to foster equity and justice in urban energy and sustainability transitions through innovative transdisciplinary methods that connect knowledge with action. This includes addressing community and city actors’ questions using creative approaches that target societal needs and methodological debates.

A core pillar of CERC NEST is knowledge synthesis and dissemination, policy-making, and social learning, ensuring that research insights are translated into accessible, impactful formats for diverse audiences.

Position Description 

The CERC NEST invites applications from candidates with research, analytical, and writing backgrounds in the social and cultural dimensions of energy systems, climate policy, or environmental studies to support the drafting and technical development of a specific chapter on Energy for the upcoming Canadian climate assessment, Living in Our Changing Climate, Natural Resources Canada.

The objective of this chapter is to assess Canada’s energy systems in a changing climate. This includes energy regimes, uses, sources (e.g., hydro, gas, oil, nuclear, renewables), energy networks and infrastructure, supply and demand, trade considerations, and linkages with mitigation. It also considers how Canadians are adapting, innovating, and building energy resilience and equity, as well as human and natural well-being.

The Research Assistant (RA) will work closely with the chapter author team to synthesize literature, manage citations, and draft technical sections of the Energy chapter. This fellowship is designed for students who are organized, detail-oriented, responsive, and comfortable working with clear expectations and timelines.

Key Responsibilities 

The successful fellow will be responsible for the following during the fellowship term:

Deliverables will be clearly defined at the start of the work period. 

Eligibility

Research Assistant Structure

Diversity Equity, and Inclusion

The University of Toronto embraces Diversity and is building a culture of belonging that increases our capacity to address and serve the interests of our global community effectively. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, Black andracialized persons, women, persons with disabilities, and people of diverse sexual and gender identities. We value applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and recognize that diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise are essential to strengthening our academic mission. You will be asked to complete a brief Diversity Survey as part of your application. This survey is voluntary. Any information directly related to you is confidential and cannot be accessed by search committees or human resources staff. Results will be aggregated for institutional planning purposes. For more information, please see http://uoft.me/UP.

To Apply:

Send the following as a single PDF file, with “CERC NEST Energy Research Assistant” in the subject line, to paty.romerolankao@utoronto.ca by February 1, 2026:

If you have questions about the position, please contact Prof. Paty Romero-Lankao before submitting your application.

Why Sanitation Matters for Education 

No school can succeed without access to clean water 

When we talk about education, we usually think about teachers, books, and classrooms. But what about toilets? Or clean drinking water? As strange as it might sound, sanitation plays a huge role in whether students can actually learn. 

That’s where Sustainable Development Goal 4 comes in. SDG 4 (Quality Education) is about ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all. And while it might seem unrelated, achieving this goal is closely tied to another one: SDG 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation), which focuses on clean water and sanitation. 

In both Canada and Brazil, efforts to improve education are often held back by poor sanitation conditions, especially in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities. A student who does not have access to a safe bathroom at school may skip class, miss learning time, or even drop out. This is especially true for girls, who often stay home during menstruation when schools lack private washrooms, access to water, or proper disposal for menstrual products. Studies show that a significant share of girls in low resource settings miss school during their period because basic menstrual hygiene facilities are not available. 

In my own research across nine municipalities, I compared cities in Santa Catarina, Brazil, with cities in Ontario, Canada. While the Canadian cities generally had better infrastructure, both regions face serious challenges when it comes to equity. Even in Ontario, Indigenous communities like Neskantaga First Nation continue to struggle with boil-water advisories that have lasted decades. Similarly, in Brazil, 2024 UNICEF data reveals that over 12 million children still lack adequate sanitation, particularly those living outside large urban centers. 

Education policies often overlook this connection. But the United Nations has made it clear: access to clean water and sanitation is essential for learning. Without it, children miss school, get sick more often, and face higher risks of dropping out. This affects not just individuals, but entire communities trying to break the cycle of poverty. 

In some places, local governments are starting to pay more attention. For example, school construction programs are being updated to include better hygiene facilities. Some Canadian schools are also adding water and sanitation content into their environmental education lessons, helping students understand how these systems work and why they matter. 

Still, a lot more needs to be done. The SDGs offer a useful framework, but they are not enforceable laws. No one will be taken to court for not meeting SDG 4 or SDG 6. These goals depend on political will, awareness, funding, and community support. 

But that vision matters. It reminds us that clean water and quality education go hand in hand. If we want to build fairer, more sustainable societies, we need to look at how our systems connect and make sure no one is left behind simply because they don’t have access to something as basic as a working toilet. 

SDGs@UofT Student Awards Program

SDGs@UofT is inviting students to apply for the SDGs@UofT Student Awards program! The program will train highly qualified personnel by supporting undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in graduate studies. 

The SDGs Student Awards program provides financial support to students who are engaged in SDG-relevant research in their chosen fields and that is being conducted at one of the three campuses at the University of Toronto. The SDGs@UofT student award program will support student-led research that aligns with one or more of the initiative’s research themes. Successful applicants will receive a one-time $1,500 for 12-months and can re-apply in subsequent years so long as they maintain good academic standing in their programs.

The program includes two streams:

Eligibility

The SDGs Student Awards program supports and promotes high-quality research in a wide variety of disciplines and areas, which are divided into broad fields of research (health, natural sciences and engineering, and social sciences and humanities). This includes research that bridges two or more disciplines or that requires the skills of several disciplines.

We are strongly committed to diversity and especially welcome applications from racialized persons/persons of colour, women, indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, members of LGBTQ communities, and others who contribute to further diversifying our community.

Application Procedures

To apply to the SDGs Student Awards program, you must complete and apply by completing the online submission form here. Your application should include: 

  1. Project title: The title should describe the research to be carried out during the funding period.
  2. Academic unit the project falls into:
    • Applied science & engineering
    • Architecture, landscape & design
    • Arts & science
    • Dentistry
    • Education
    • Information
    • Kinesiology & physical education
    • Law
    • Management
    • Medicine, nursing, public health
    • Pharmacy
    • Social Work
    • Other
  3. Campus
    • St. George
    • Scarborough
    • Mississauga
  4. Research Themes: Select the SDG theme(s) that is/are linked to your proposal.
  5. Summary of project: Provide a summary (4000 characters max.) of your research and how it is relevant to the SDGs and aligns with the work of the SDGs@UofT initiative. Summary must include research topic, research questions, research methods and plans for knowledge mobilization.
  6. CV: include a copy of your most up to date CV outlining your academic work with your application.
  7. Letter of Reference: please arrange for your supervisor to submit a short one-to-two-page letter of reference by via email to sdg.admin@utoronto.ca by December 17th. Letters should confirm the registration status of the student as well as the student’s qualities, strengths, and merits in conducting research activities.

Deadlines

Resilience Begins with People: Building Inclusive Pathways for Disaster Risk Reduction 

Disasters don’t usually come out of nowhere. Here in Toronto, we’re seeing it more often. Frequent floods sweeping through neighborhoods and hazy skies thick with smoke are all signs of a changing climate. Around the world, countless communities are facing resilience challenges due to infrastructure needs which have long been ignored. And  in too many cases, it’s vulnerable people who were left out of planning, whose systems fail first, and who have the fewest resources, that bear the heaviest burden.  

As an engineer, I often think about resilience in terms of systems—water networks that withstand drought and floods, energy grids that keep clinics running during storms. But resilience is not just a technical problem to be solved. If we don’t think beyond the technical and to the people being served, the technical solutions are bound to have limited impact. At the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) and my research group, the Water and Energy Research Lab (WERL), we explore how technology can serve people more equitably. We design solar-powered water purification and desalination systems, sustainable irrigation technologies, and low-energy wastewater treatment solutions for communities where centralized infrastructure doesn’t reach—or doesn’t last. 
 
Technical innovation alone isn’t enough. Our collaborations in South-East Asia, Mexico and the Caribbean have reinforced a critical truth: the success of an innovation depends as much on community trust, training, and ownership as it does on efficiency. When residents shape the technologies meant for them—choosing what’s maintainable, affordable, and culturally appropriate—those solutions endure. When they don’t, systems fail long before the next disaster strikes. 

This year, through ongoing partnerships with colleagues from the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), I’ve been reminded how diverse resilience looks across regions—and yet how universal the challenges are In Canada, remote Indigenous and northern communities face recurring evacuation cycles due to wildfires and floods. In Mexico, earthquakes and hydrological risks intersect with rapid urbanization and inequality. Across the Caribbean, stronger hurricanes and rising seas threaten livelihoods, infrastructure, and access to safe water. In every case, under-represented and marginalized populations are those most at risk. They are also the source of some of the most creative, grounded solutions—whether it's: 

Building resilience means elevating these voices, not speaking for them. It means designing technology and policy with empathy, humility, and the awareness that experience takes many forms. 

True disaster risk reduction depends on connection—across borders, disciplines, and lived experience. That’s why CGEN’s tri-regional collaboration with UNAM and UWI continues to grow. This past year we hosted a series of workshops at each partner to understand the context and build collaboration. We are currently building on this through collaborative research projects and opportunities for student exchange. These partnerships are focused on SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). 

As I reflect on this work on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, we’re reminded that the work of engineering resilience begins not with technology, but with listening. And that the most powerful tools we have are not only solar panels or sensors, but partnerships built on trust, respect, and shared purpose. As disasters grow more complex, our ability to listen to communities, partners, and one another will define how resilient our shared future can be.