The UNU International Institute for Software Technology (UNU-IIST) aims to further the development and application of information and communication technologies to address the pressing global challenges of sustainable development through education, research, capacity development and policy support.

Activities of UNU-IIST are focused on the development and application of ICT in four major areas: Education, Governance, Health, and Poverty.  Due to the highly interlinked nature of problems in these areas, projects the institute undertakes typically span multiple areas.  In addition, the institute maintains core technical competencies in areas of software technology that are highly relevant to these subject areas, including formal methods for modeling of complex systems, data mining, knowledge management and decision support, and collaboration platforms.