The SDGs Scholars Academy serves as a think tank bringing together leading researchers and encouraging them to pursue convergence research and knowledge mobilization to address issues that are crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and informing future global goals.
Its vision is to position U of T as leaders in convergence research that empowers positive actions on the SDGs and informs future global goals for an equitable and sustainable future. Its mission is to be a global powerhouse of knowledge that enhances learning, catalyzes equitable action, and facilitates inclusive outcomes on the SDGs through an innovative network of faculty, trainees, and partners.
The SDGs Scholars Academy will bring together, support, and mobilize a global community of scholars, policy makers and practitioners in open discussion and dialogue to conduct convergence research to address complex issues crucial to sustainable development. The SDGs Scholars Academy will be guided by the following four objectives:
Research Acceleration
Conduct convergence research that reflects epistemological and methodological diversity to create the evidence needed to advance the SDGs and inform future global goals.
Trainee Empowerment
Empower trainees to engage in convergence research related to the SDGs. The SDGs Scholars Academy will empower trainees to engage in SDG-related research, through mechanisms that include:
Public Engagement
Build sustainable collaborations and partnerships to catalyze transformative research and training on the SDGs.
Knowledge Mobilization to Maximize Impact
Mobilize convergence research and inform policy and practice to address the complex intersecting challenges presented by the SDGs.
The Academy operationalizes its vision through its fellows who lead convergence research to create novel research frameworks relevant to the SDGs, with the goal of influencing intellectual and public discourse and shaping evidence-based policy and practical solutions to global challenges that promote just, equitable and empowering outcomes. Through these activities, the Fellows will help drive the shift from a fragmented to a more holistic approach to the SDGs at UofT. All Fellows will be thought leaders who are already engaged in SDG relevant research, who have demonstrated a commitment to partnership and collaborative work.
By acting as a think tank, fellows of the SDGs Scholars Academy will lead the catalysis and synthesis of novel ideas, methods, and evidence needed to advance the SDGs and inform future global goals. Bringing together local and international experts and experts-in-training, Fellows will lead work on specific problems aligned with one or more of the SDGs@UofT research themes.