Tokyo, June 26 : The founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University, Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, addressed the prestigious annual meeting of the Academic Council of the United Nations System (ACUNS) here and delivered the keynote speech titled 'The Role of Universities in the Global South for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)'.

In his discourse, Dr. Raj Kumar outlined how critical it was to achieve the ambitious Agenda 2030 in the remaining six years and how important it is for all the stakeholders, governments and corporations to undertake strategic policies and actions to contribute directly to the fulfilment of the SDGs and solve pressing global issues.

“It is essential that knowledge production and distribution, innovation, cutting-edge research, interactive learning, and capacity building are enhanced for human development and universities and other higher education institutions can be a key platform to realise the fruitful conclusion of these important and demanding tasks,” he said.

Detailing the critical steps needed, Dr. Raj Kumar said, “Universities in India and the Global South can contribute to the achievement of all the 17 SDGs in 10 main points. The primary role of universities is to empower students to become changemakers by embedding relevant themes and challenges within the curricula while focusing on experiential learning, clinical programmes, capstone projects, and community level engagement.

"To break the vicious cycle of poverty, it is essential to provide financial aid and scholarships, promote philanthropy, and provide policy recommendations to the government to invest in public education. To ensure equality for all, institutions have the dual responsibility to be microcosms of equal opportunity, fair practice, and an inclusive centre of learning as well as workplace.

"Universities contribute to achieving the goal of good health and well-being through generation of knowledge and scholarship on healthcare, and raising awareness through community engagement.”