• Trinity College Dublin

Achieving Sustainable Development

Explore the challenges of sustainable development. See the impact of UN Sustainable Development Goals on real people.

16,870 enrolled on this course

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Achieving Sustainable Development

16,870 enrolled on this course

  • 4 weeks

  • 4 hours per week

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Open level

Find out more about how to join this course

Consider the impact that UN Sustainable Development Goals could have

Governments of the world have signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a UN initiative for international development. They are targets for improving the world by 2030, including: health, environment, education, and security. But will they have an impact on the lives of people?

On this course you will critically consider key SDGs including peace, healthcare, sustainable cities, and water and sanitation. You will examine the ways in which development really can be sustainable, its impact on communities, and how it can make a difference to real lives.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 9 seconds The greatest challenges facing our globalised world today include protecting human rights, overcoming poverty, disease, and exclusion, and helping nations to achieve self-determination. But today, we also face challenges that previous generations didn’t have to consider, the need to support a livable earth and the mass migration of people across borders. The extreme connectedness of our modern world means we cannot fail to recognise the significance of these global issues on the lives of individuals and to fully appreciate their impact on human dignity. In September 2015, the governments of the world signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals, a universal UN framework for global development. In December of the same year, they also signed global agreements on climate change.

Skip to 0 minutes and 58 seconds In doing so, governments renewed their commitment to the eradication of poverty and hunger while also addressing patterns of unsustainable consumption of our natural resources. The goals are universal and global in their reach, a transformative change that recognises that all countries, North and South, are really unfinished products, continuously evolving in an effort to achieve the well-being, flourishing, and prosperity of their peoples. Together, these 17 goals and actions on climate change have set over 160 targets for improving our world by 2030– in areas such as health, environment, education, and security.

Skip to 1 minute and 41 seconds Now, citizens, scholars, and human beings everywhere who want a different world and a better future must find a way to make good on these pledges, to turn those words into actions, and determine if those actions can have an impact on the lives of real people. What is impact? What does it look like? How do we measure it? What will the impact of the goals be on peacekeepers in Colombia, women seeking employment in Uganda, or health workers in Ireland? Together, over the next four weeks with researchers from Trinity College Dublin, we invite you to critically examine these key goals– peace, health care, our environment, and economic equality.

Skip to 2 minutes and 29 seconds We will examine how these link together and how they can make a difference to our lives. Effectively tackling challenges that are interrelated in our everyday experience– such as climate change, peace, equality, and health– will be explored through case studies. We will discuss the importance of sustainable development goals from the perspectives of people living and working around the world, focusing on the lives of people living in poverty. This course is for anyone interested in the future of our world and how we can improve it.

Skip to 3 minutes and 3 seconds We invite you to join us at TIDI, Trinity’s International Development Initiative, with researchers from peace studies, medicine, engineering, and economics, to explore concepts at the heart of sustainable global development, and to reflect on what it means to take on and attempt to solve these challenges. Together, we will share our understanding of how to make the sustainable development goals a reality.

Syllabus

  • Week 1

    Peace, justice, and strong institutions

    • Welcome to the course

      Welcome to this four week course on achieving sustainable development. Meet your lecturers and find out what we will be learning in the upcoming weeks.

    • Sustainable development: A global challenge

      This week starts off by looking at what we mean by sustainable development. We look at what the sustainable development goals are, and what you think are the big challenges for our world.

    • SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Insitutions

      Why is violence a threat to development? These steps introduce SDG 16 and explain why peace, justice and effective institutions are key to sustainable development.

    • Violence and development

      Case studies of the impact of violence on development can help us understand the importance of this goal. Learn about how different types of violence in Kenya and Sri Lanka have challenged sustainable development.

    • Inclusive institutions

      SDG 16 is not just about preventing violence. Here we will explore the importance of just institutions for peace and read about case studies of post-war corruption in Kosovo and FARC-EP rebels in Colombia.

    • Reflecting on the first week

      What are the biggest challenges to achieving SDG 16? Listen to Jude, Jin and Gillian's thoughts on the challenges to achieving SDG 16.

  • Week 2

    Sustainability and health

    • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

      This week, we will be exploring what it means to achieve SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being. We'll be looking at the threats to this goal through case studies in reproductive health, nutrition, disease, and medicine.

    • Nutrition: The foundation of health

      Good health and nutrition go hand in hand. But the world is facing many challenges to nutrition, from under nutrition to the growing epidemic of obesity. Find out why these have a major impact on sustainable development.

    • Maternal, child, and reproductive health in focus

      "Children are our future, and their mothers are its guardians.” (Kofi Annan). Learn about the challenges to maternal, reproductive and child health, and explore a case study of Community Health Workers in Sierra Leone.

    • The changing face of disease

      How are new innovative practices like precision medicine and genomics helping to achieve sustainable health? Here we will explore these new developments in healthcare, and explore new challenges like antibiotic resistance.

    • Reflecting on the second week

      How difficult is it to achieve SDG 3? We will be looking at some of the main criticisms of SDG 3, such as difficulties in capturing all aspects of health, and making sure no one is left behind.

  • Week 3

    Sustainable water, sanitation, and cities

    • Sustainable water, sanitation and cities

      This week we will be looking at the challenges facing SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation, and SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities.

    • Water sources and treatment

      Having access to clean water is a major part of achieving good health and wellbeing. Find out what the challenges are to getting access to clean water sources, and successful water treatment.

    • Rural and urban water supply and sanitation

      Both rural and urban environments face challenges to water supply and sanitation. Find out how rural communities in Ireland, and peri-urban areas in India are tackling these challenges.

    • Urbanization and infrastructure

      Our growing world faces major challenges, in particular with the massive growth of city living. Martina will be taking us through some of the big issues facing SDG 11.

    • Eco-cities and the environment

      Are eco-cities the solution to sustainable development? Find out how these cities are being built and why they could be the way forward to achieve sustainable development in cities and communities.

    • Reflecting on the third week

      Now that we have explored SDG 6 and SDG 11, we'll ask you to reflect on what you have learned this week.

  • Week 4

    The impact of sustainable development

    • What's the big picture?

      In the last three weeks we have looked at case studies and challenges to sustainable development. But what's the big picture? How are the SDG interconnected, and what's the best way of measuring their impact?

    • Measuring the impact of sustainable development

      We have seen why achieving sustainable development is important for our planet. But how can we be sure that development projects are actually making a difference? Here we will explore some techniques for measuring impact.

    • Exploring impact: The Inspiring Women project

      We have looked at the different ways of evaluation impact, but what does it look like in practice? Gaia and Carol explain how one of their projects "Inspiring Women" in Uganda were evaluated.

    • Where does this leave us?

      Well done for getting to the final part of this course. In this section we will look at a critique of the SDGs, and what's next for achieving sustainable development for our planet.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Identify and analyse some of the root causes of underdevelopment from a multidisciplinary perspective
  • Investigate case studies of sustainable development challenges including conflict resolution in Sri Lanka, HIV healthcare in Uganda, and sanitation in India
  • Reflect on the challenges to achieving sustainable development
  • Discuss why and how violence and conflict hinder sustainable development
  • Explain why sanitation is key to sustainability and ensuring good health
  • Explore the challenges to achieving adequate healthcare for all
  • Measure the impact of development though a Ugandan case study
  • Discuss the challenges to achieving sustainable development through five key areas; peace, healthcare, water and sanitation, gender, and sustainable cities

Who is the course for?

This course is for anyone interested in the future of our world, and how we can improve it. It might be of specific interest to students all over the world who are planning to live and work in developing countries, and to development stakeholders including people in NGOs, governments and communities.

Who will you learn with?

Professor in Economics at the Department of Economics, Trinity College Dublin and
Chair of the Trinity International Development Initiative (TIDI)

Assistant Professor in International Peace Studies, Trinity College Dublin

Professor in Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin. My research interests involve studying the fate and transport of both air and water-borne pollutants in the natural & built environment.

Associate Professor in Medical Education at Trinity College Dublin and Consultant in Pharmacology and Therapeutics at St. James' Hospital in Dublin. I am also Lead Academic on the NOURISH Project.

Assistant Professor in Smart and Sustainable Urbanism at the Geography Department, Trinity College Dublin.

I explore how smart and eco-city projects are cultivated and implemented around the world

I am the Ussher Assistant Professor in Development Economics at Trinity College Dublin. My research focuses on urban, labor and public economics. Most of my work employs big spatial datasets.

I work in health policy and am affiliated to TCD School of Medicine. My research interests centre around global health, organisational development and leadership for improving public services

I am a Professor in Molecular Medicine in Trinity College. My main research interest is in the genomics of complex diseases and I am Director of the Molecular Medicine postgraduate programme.

Who developed the course?

Trinity College Dublin

Founded in 1592, Trinity College Dublin is Ireland’s highest ranked university. It promotes a diverse, interdisciplinary environment to nurture ground-breaking research, innovation, and creativity.

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Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$27.99

For the first two months. Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$134/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 16 Apr 2024

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