A new wide-ranging article by News Decoder explores UNU’s global research initiatives, priorities and outlook.
“Promoting useful scientific discoveries aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, UNU institutes take a long view on current and future global issues that will be relevant beyond four or five-year election cycles. Thematically, the breadth of research is vast, from tackling drought to UN Peacebuilding, conflict and migration, water, technology and much more.”
“The university’s Rector, Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, has a vision for UNU to create knowledge that advances sustainable development in partnership with other like-minded academic institutions across geographic borders. Marwala is unequivocal about the importance of grounding UNU’s research in promoting sustainable development”.
The article goes on to spotlight some of UNU’s institutes and experts, and a renewed commitment to generating knowledge that connects the Global North and Global South.
As UNU pivots to focus on the growing impacts and opportunities surrounding technology and artificial intelligence (AI), Rector Marwala emphasized: “If you ask a conventional policymaker what giving access to AI means to the Global South, the answer is access to data,” Marwala said. “We tackle the policy issues of data poverty — how do you facilitate access to the applications of this technology in health, agriculture and transportation.”
