Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnership for the Goals
Queen’s has a proud history of collaborating to address global societal challenges to create a healthier society and planet. This page details how Queen’s University are achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnership for the Goals.
Relationships with regional NGOs and government for SDG Policy
Queen’s University Belfast continue to partner with Trinity College Dublin and University of Reading on a €41.3 million research centre. The Climate + Co-Centre directly works with government and a range of NGOs (Community Foundation Ireland and Play Think Brink) as the Co-Centre is the home for research, innovation and policy development across the interlinked challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and water degradation.
In January 2025 politicians and policymakers had the opportunity to meet with a range of University academics and staff who are delivering world-leading research, groundbreaking innovation and life-changing work in the community. The event highlighted the critical role the University plays in supporting Programme for Government objectives and driving real-world impact. The showcase exhibition provided an opportunity to discuss how collaborative efforts can create meaningful change for the people of Northern Ireland.
Cross sectoral dialogues about the SDGs
Cross sectoral dialogue on topics associated with the SDGs takes place with our community, NGOs and local government.
The Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils Annual Meeting and Global Innovation Summit took place at Queen's University Belfast from 11 to 15 November 2024. The theme was Global Sustainability and Economic Inclusion. This event offered a unique experience to participants from industry, government, academia, and civil society organisations to engage with peers, access first-hand global best practices, and take part in high-profile strategy conversations on the nexus connecting sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness. A wide range of Sustainable Development Goals were discussed - SDG 5 Gender Equality, SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG 17 Partnership for the Goals.
The Agreement 25 Conference took place at Queen’s University in Belfast on April 2023 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. Former President of the United States, President Bill Clinton, and the Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast, Secretary Hillary R. Clinton, were among the global leaders who took part in the conference. A key topic was SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
International collaboration data gathering for SDGs
A pioneering new approach to ‘wave science’, aimed at improving outcomes across global healthcare, the environment, engineering and economics, was published in April 2025 by a group of international researchers led by Queen’s University Belfast. The scientists come from a variety of backgrounds but they all study waves – whether that be waves in the ocean; waves that make up our mobile-phone networks; waves used in X-Ray machines and ultrasounds; or the seismic waves involved in earthquakes.
Despite the diversity of their individual disciplines, the scientists say that methodologies for wave analysis can be similar and scientists have a valuable opportunity to collaborate and learn from each other and accelerate major developments, now that wave science underpins so much of our modern technology and society. Benefits will be seen in early warnings for earthquakes, optimising renewable energies, advancing medical diagnostics as well as improving our fundamental understanding of the Universe.
Since 2023, the RUMEN Gateway Project has been led by Queen’s University Belfast – involving 24 institutions and universities worldwide. The project will explore the microbial world within rumen, a complex and little-studied ecosystem in livestock. International data gathering on the microbial make-up of rumen across 24 countries, including the global south, will enhance the scientific understanding of rumen, which is a characteristic feature in cows, which is crucial for speeding up solutions to reduce livestock methane emissions.
Collaboration for SDG best practice
In April 2024, Queen's University Belfast international Reach'24 Art and Sustainability Festival returned to our campus. Established in collaboration with Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Ireland, the festival showcased a range of projects, practice-based work and community engagement projects from across Ireland. The festival programme featured art exhibitions, film screenings, workshops and talks on policy, practice and community engagement in the arts and sustainability.
Reach'24 has been recognised by academics and organisations across the globe as an exemplar project of how to engage individuals within multiple sectors on sustainability via the arts.
Collaboration with NGOs for SDGs
Queen’s University students volunteer with Fighting Words NI, a local NGO, who helps local primary school children create their own stories. Launched in 2023, the ongoing project, hosted by the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s, trains student volunteers to work together with the children in workshops, helping them express their creativity through story making. This project links directly with SDG 4 Quality Education.
Refugee Week, held every June, was recognised with a programme of events that celebrate community and diversity, including a celebration event to formally recognise Queen’s becoming a University of Sanctuary. Throughout the week, Queen’s partnered with community organisations, advocacy groups, NGOs and civic partners to deliver a meaningful series of events that reflect its commitment to creating an inclusive, welcoming environment for all. Events included a film screening, University of Sanctuary Celebration, information fair and a Big Refugee Picnic.
A research programme which has collaborated with a NGO for the SDGs includes a report that has been completed by The Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action with local NGO ‘Love our Lough’. Academics researched the emotional impact of the algae crises on people living in and around Lough Neagh between 2023-2024.
In early 2024, Queen’s University Geography School, in collaboration with the Belfast Branch of the Geographical Association, created a range of educational resources on a number of different sustainability topics to support a range of geography GCSE, AS and A2 classes.
In March 2025 the University hosted an event, entitled SistersINSPIRE, in collaboration with SistersIN. The event aimed to inspire and empower young women by showcasing leadership, career pathways, and education opportunities. They welcomed 100 sixth-form schoolgirls and 15 teachers from schools across Northern Ireland. Led by Queen’s academics and students, sessions covered diverse topics such as women’s contributions to cinema, engineering for a sustainable future, saving lives through medical simulation, the role of AI in learning, and the fundamentals of legal mooting.
Education for SDGs
The University is a signatory to the UN Accord which recognises the key role that global universities have in nurturing a culture of sustainability and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 through research and education. As a result, sustainability is being integrated across our full curriculum. Through engaging all students via mandatory inductions, and via optional educational opportunities (Carbon Literacy Training) students are informed about the Sustainable Development Goals, alongside the climate and biodiversity crises we are facing.
We also have dedicated outreach educational activities for the wider community, including alumni, local residents and displaced people/refugees.
The Department of Alumni Engagement and Philanthropy release their annual newsletter, 'Lanyon', every summer to the University's alumni members. Increasingly stories, information and opportunities are based around the Sustainable Development Goals - this includes SDG 5 Gender Equality, SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities and SDG 13 Climate Action.
As part of the University's commitment to being a University of Sanctuary, a range of events are hosted to engage with local refugee communities/displaced people. In June the Sustainability Team hosted a 'Sanctuary Coffee Morning', providing an opportunity for individuals and families to learn about the Sustainable Development Goals, what Queen's University are doing to achieve them and how they can be part of our sustainability journey.
The University has dedicated outreach educational activities for the wider community via their ‘Sustainability Talks and Conversations’ campaign. The campaign includes hosting a series of free events on a range of sustainability topics, including sustainable construction, sustainable art, travel waste and politics. Events are open to staff, students and our local community with over 4,000 individuals attending a range of events throughout 2024-25.
The university measures their students’ ability to learn and retain key concepts of sustainability. Pre-and-post surveys are undertaken by students before, and after, completing Carbon Literacy Training. A total of 604 students undertook the survey. When asked, ‘How would you rate your level of knowledge about climate change now that you have completed the course?’, those who ranked their level as ‘high’ or ‘very high’ went from 23% to 94%.