News & Events

Programme

12 February 2019: Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

• Prof. Patrick Paul Walsh, UCD School of Politics and International Relations & UCD Geary Institute
• Prof. Nessa Winston, UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, UCD Earth Institute & UCD Geary Institute - End poverty in all forms everywhere?
• Dr Ronan McDermott, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science & UCD Centre for Humanitarian Action - Measuring tenure security: SDG Indicator 1.4.2 – Opportunities and Challenges
• Dr Tricia Keilthy, Social Policy Officer, Society of St Vincent de Paul - How can Ireland meet the challenge of Goal 1?

19 February 2019: Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

• Prof. Dolores O’Riordan, UCD Vice President for Global Engagement Director, UCD Institute of Food and Health School of Agriculture and Food Science
• Prof. Jim Kinsella, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science - SDG2 The Hunger Goal: The challenge of enabling farmers to increase productivity and profitability through sustainable systems of food production
• Dr Aifric O’Sullivan, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science & UCD Institute of Food and Health - Agriculture and Nutrition

26 February 2019: Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

• Prof. Catherine Godson, UCD School of Medicine & UCD Conway Institute
• Dr Jakub Gajewski, Programme Director for Research Institute of Global Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland - Access to Surgical Care in Africa: a true crisis
• Dr Virginie Gautier, UCD Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases, UCD School of Medicine
• Ms Helen Heneghan, Consultant Bariatric Surgeon, St. Vincent’s University Hospital - Treatment of Obesity: the biggest preventable health threat of the 21st century

12 March 2019: Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

• Prof. Ciaran Sugrue, UCD School of Education and Goal 4 seminar chair
• Dr Conor Buggy, UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy & Sports Science - Online Education – Bringing UCD Expertise To Tanzania: Achieving SDG4 through sharing skills to improve curricula and pedagogies
• Dr Stephan Köppe, UCD School of Social Policy, Social Justice and Social Work - Educational inequality
• Dr Jennifer Symonds, UCD School of Education - UCD Safe Learning Study: a mixed methods study of 100 primary schools in Sierra Leone

28 March 2019: Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

The fifth seminar in our series on the UN Sustainable Development Goals focussed on the theme of gender-based violence in local and global contexts and will explore the growth of the commercial sex industry, gender and harm, as well as issues of gender equality, gender-based violence and humaniarian action in situations of conflict in southern and global contexts. There were three presenters:

• Dr Monica O’Connor is Senior Researcher on the UCD Sexual Exploitation Research Project (SERP) and has been an independent academic/policy-maker and activist on gender-based violence for very many years, mainly in an Irish. but also EU Context and has recently published The Sex Industry (Agenda Press, 2019).
• Pat O’Connor, Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Limerick and Visiting Professor, Geary Institute, University College Dublin. Pat’s research interests are currently focused on gender equality in higher education: with a particular focus on organisational culture, leadership and management.
• Niamh Kingston is the Coordinator of the International School on Gender Based Violence in the Centre for Humanitarian Action, University College Dublin. She is a graduate of the MSc in Humanitarian Action and has previously worked in both the private and NGO sectors.
• Ursula Barry chaired the Seminar as Director of the UCD MA in Gender Studies, contributor to BSoc Sci Social Justice Programme and Co-Director of the UCD Centre for Gender, Feminisms and Sexualities (CGFS). Ursula represents Ireland on the EU Research Network on Scientific Analysis and Assessment of Gender Equality Policies.

9 April 2019: Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

The sixth seminar in our series on the UN Sustainable Development Goals focused on the theme clean water and sanitation.  The three speakers:

• Wim Meijer is Professor of Microbiology and head of the UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science. Wim’s research team works in two thematic areas: water quality and human/animal health. His water themed research focuses on water quality of bathing waters and rivers, in particular in relation to fecal contamination, pathogens and antimicrobial resistance, working closely with colleagues in other disciplines (Civil Engineering and IT), with local authorities and national regulatory bodies.
• Charlie Coakley is the Sustainability Policy Lead at Irish Water. Irish Water is responsible for delivering safe and clean drinking water and environmentally safe wastewater services to household and businesses across Ireland. These vital services underpin the social and economic progress for Ireland, now and into the future. Charlie Coakley leads Irish Water’s dedicated sustainability policy team, developing and integrating sustainability policy and strategies. These policies and strategies are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG6 – clean water and sanitation.
• Niall Roche is an Environmental Health Officer by profession but has worked in the area of overseas development and humanitarian action for the past 28 years. He initially worked as a volunteer with Concern Worldwide responding to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) needs of Cambodian refugees in Thailand. Since then he has lived and worked all across Asia and sub-Saharan Africa working to protect public health primarily within the sector of WaSH. He currently works as a consultant mainly supporting organisations monitor and evaluate their work. He also works as a part time lecturer at a number of institutions including UCD covering topics such as Global Health, Public Health, Health, Environment and Climate and WaSH in Emergencies.
• Chair: Mary Kelly-Quinn is Associate Professor in the UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science. Mary’s research activities focus on the assessment of land-use and other anthropogenic activities and interventions on the hydrochemical and ecological quality of surface waters.

23 April 2019: Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Speakers:

• Prof. Murray Hitzman has been Director of iCRAG and an SFI Research Professor in the UCD School of Earth Sciences since March 2018. He worked in the petroleum and minerals industries from 1976 to 1993, primarily doing mineral exploration worldwide and was largely responsible for Chevron Corporation’s Lisheen Zn- Pb-Ag deposit discovery in Ireland.
• Maeve Boland is a Senior Geoscience and Policy Specialist, UCD/GSI, and has a comprehensive understanding of the intricacies surrounding geoscience policy. She has extensive experience in industry, academia, and policy settings. After receiving B.A. and M.Sc. degrees in Geology from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, Maeve worked in petroleum and mineral exploration in the private sector, and industrial minerals at the Geological Survey of Ireland. She later received her Ph.D. in Geology from the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado, where she developed her policy expertise and taught multiple courses on the intersection of science and policy.
• Geertje Schuitema is a Lecturer in Consumer Behaviour and Technology Adoption at UCD’s College of Business. Prior to joining UCD, she received her MSc and PhD degrees in Social and Behavioural Sciences from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. After her PhD, Geertje was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Transport Research, University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom and at the College of Business and Social Sciences at Aarhus University, Denmark. As a social scientist she works with scholars from many different disciplines and with industry on issues around consumer behaviour, public engagement and policy acceptance.
• James McAteer is an experienced geologist with a BSc in Geology and Archaeology from University College Dublin. James currently heads up geothermal research at Irish engineering consultancy, Gavin and Doherty Geosolutions (GDG). James is currently the lead project co-ordinator for the Geothermica co-fund project ‘Geo-Urban’ assessing the geothermal potential of Dublin City and Vallés, Catalonia, Spain.

14 May 2019: Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Speakers:

• Elish Kelly will talk about her research on the quality of new jobs created since the Great Recession in Ireland. Elish is a Senior Research Officer at the Economic and Social Research Institute in the Economic Analysis Division. She received her Bachelor and Doctorate degrees in Economics from Trinity College Dublin. Her main research interest is in labour economics, with a particular focus on unemployment and active labour market programmes, migration, and wages and pay bargaining institutions. Elish has also undertaken research on equality and on education issues, along with participation in sport and physical activity.
• Micheál Collins will talk about emerging trends in job insecurity. Micheál is Assistant Professor of Social Policy at the UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice. Prior to that, he was a Senior Economist at the Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI). His main research interests and publications are in the areas of income distribution, taxation, redistribution, economic evaluation and public policy.
• Roland Erne contribution is titled “SDGs and their implementation: The tension between labour policy and politics”.  Roland Erne is Jean Monnet Chair of European Integration and Employment Relations. He has been teaching international and comparative employment relations at UCD since 2003.
• Chair: Philip O’Connell is Director of The Geary Institute for Public Policy and Professor of Applied Social Science at UCD. He has a long-held belief in the importance of evidence for policy making, having spent two decades at the ESRI before coming to UCD.  He has served as a consultant to the European Commission and the OECD, and was appointed to the Irish Labour Market Council. His research focusses on immigration and the labour market and he is National Coordinator of the European Social Survey in Ireland.

8 October 2019: Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries

The UCD SDG Seminar Series kicked off again this autumn with a look at Goal 10, reduce inequality within and among countries.  The panel was:

• Dr Mathew Creighton (UCD School of Sociology & UCD Geary Institute) who will be discussing inequality and attitudes towards immigrants in Europe.
• Dr Hasheem Mannan (UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems) who will discuss his work on social inclusion, disability and the SDGs.
• Dr Emily Mark-Fitzgerald (UCD School of Art History and Cultural Policy and UCD Humanities Institute) on how museums and galleries in Ireland and elsewhere have recently embraced migrant histories, and adopted activist roles with respect to contemporary migration.

16 October 2019: SDG12: Responsible Consumption and Production

This week’s UCD Sustainable Development Goal seminar focused on Goal 12, Responsible Consumption and Production. The seminar was hosted by the BEACON SFI Bioeconomy Research Centre as part of Bioeconomy Ireland Week 2019.

The panel was:

• Prof. Donna Marshall (UCD College of Business, UCD Centre for Business and Society, BEACON SFI Bioeconomy Research Centre)
• Dr Fionnuala Murphy (UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, UCD Institute of Food and Health, BEACON SFI Bioeconomy Research Centre)
• Tony Quinn (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
• Chair: Prof. Kevin O’Connor (UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, UCD Earth Institute, UCD Conway Institute and BEACON SFI Bioeconomy Research Centre)

22 October 2019: Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

This UCD SDG Seminar focused on Goal 9, Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation, and in particular on the challenges of sustainable, resilient transport.

The panel was:

• Pat Maher ∙ Transport Infrastructure Ireland
  Dr Beatriz Martinez-Pastor ∙ UCD School of Civil Engineering
  Prof Aisling Reynolds-Feighan ∙ UCD School of Economics ∙ Transport Policy Research Institute
  Chair: Dr Shane Donohue ∙ UCD School of Civil Engineering ∙ UCD Earth Institute

18 November 2019: Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

The expansion of protected areas for marine biodiversity and existing policies and treaties that encourage responsible use of ocean resources are still insufficient to combat the adverse effects of overfishing, growing ocean acidification due to climate change and worsening coastal eutrophication. As billions of people depend on oceans for their livelihood and food source and on the transboundary nature of oceans, increased efforts and interventions are needed to conserve and sustainably use ocean resources at all levels.

We'll be joined by RTE broadcaster and journalist Ella McSweeney, geneticist and fisheries expert Jens Carlsson and artist and educator Anita McKeown to discuss these issues and the role the UN Sustainable Development Goals can play in highlighting and addressing them. The seminar will be chaired by Tasman Crowe, director of the UCD Earth Institute and recently appointed chair of a new expert group to advise Government on the expansion of Ireland's network of Marine Protected Areas.

20 November 2019: Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Advances in ending violence, promoting the rule of law, strengthening institutions and increasing access to justice are uneven and continue to deprive millions of their security, rights and opportunities. This lack of equity also undermines the delivery of public services and broader economic development while attacks on civil society are holding back development progress. Our expert panel will be discussing the challenges posed by Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, in the context of their own work and careers.

Speakers:

• David Donoghue had a long and varied career in Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs. He was involved for many years in the Northern Ireland peace process, and one of the Irish Government’s negotiating team for the ground-breaking Good Friday Agreement (1998). In addition to many other development, foreign policy and service posts overseas, from 2013-17 he was Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations in New York. He served as co-facilitator for the UN negotiations which led to the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015.
• Colin Scott is Professor of EU Regulation and Governance at in the School of Law at University College Dublin, where he also currently serves as Vice President for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Principal, UCD College of Social Sciences and Law. His research interests consider questions of the limits of regulatory governance, processes of accountability and non-state governance.
• Dawn Walsh is an Assistant Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations at University College Dublin. She is currently the lead researcher on an Irish Research Council funded project which examines the role of independent commissions, such as electoral and human rights commissions, in peace processes.
• Sinéad Walsh is the EU Ambassador to South Sudan. She has worked for Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade since 2009. Prior to her current role, Sinéad served as the Ambassador of Ireland to Sierra Leone and Liberia and the Head of Irish Aid in the two countries, based in Freetown from 2011 to 2016. During this period she and her colleagues worked relentlessly to bring the humanitarian disaster of the Ebola crisis to global attention, and she has co-authored the book ‘Getting to Zero’ about this experience.
• Chair: Patrick Paul Walsh is the Professor of International Development Studies in University College Dublin, Ireland. He also a Senior Advisor to the UN SDSN, New York and Chair of the Academic Steering Committee of the Global Association of Masters of Development Practice, based at the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

26 November 2019: Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

There are some encouraging global trends in protecting terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity. Forest loss is slowing down, more key biodiversity areas are protected and more financial assistance is flowing towards biodiversity protection. Yet, the 2020 targets of Sustainable Development Goal 15 are unlikely to be met, land degradation continues, biodiversity loss is occurring at an alarming rate, and invasive species and the illicit poaching and trafficking of wildlife continue to thwart efforts to protect and restore vital ecosystems and species.

We’ll be joined by Adam Kane (UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science), Suzanne Kingston (UCD Sutherland School of Law) and Olaf Schmidt (UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science), and our panel will discuss vultures and poaching in southern Africa, the global earthworm map – our largest dataset on soil biodiversity, and how we can design our laws to ensure environmental compliance. The session will be chaired by Jon Yearsley (UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science).

28 November 2019: Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Climate change presents the single biggest threat to current and future generations, and its widespread, unprecedented impacts disproportionately burden the poorest and most vulnerable.

Urgent action to combat climate change and minimize its disruptions is integral to the successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and forms the basis for Goal 13, Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

We’re joined by Barry Andrews MEP, Jacky Croke (UCD School of Geography), Aideen O’Dochartaigh (UCD School of Business and BEACON SFI Bioeconomy Centre) and Sadhbh O’Neill (UCD School of Politics and International Relations and Climate Case Ireland) to discuss the political, legal, social and scientific challenges that climate change presents.

30 Jan 2020: Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

How can we make our towns and cities more inclusive, resilient and sustainable? Our panel of researchers discuss the challenges of SDG11.

More than half the world’s population lives in cities. By 2030, it is projected that 6 out of 10 people will be urban dwellers. Despite numerous planning challenges, well-managed cities and other human settlements can be incubators for innovation and ingenuity and key drivers of sustainable development. However, many cities around the world are facing acute challenges in managing rapid urbanization— from ensuring adequate housing and infrastructure to support growing populations, to confronting the environmental impact of urban sprawl, to reducing vulnerability to disasters.

We’ll be joined up Alison Harvey (Heritage Council) who will discuss Ireland’s Collaborative Town Centre Health Check; Gerald Mills (UCD School of Geography) on urban climates and access to green space; and Michelle Norris (UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice) on adequate, safe, affordable housing.

The seminar is hosted by Karen Foley (UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy) and Nessa Winston (UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice), leads of the Sustainable Communities research theme in the UCD Earth Institute and is part of the UCD Sustainable Development Goal seminar series.