Lingnan University has been internationally recognised for its commitment to the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), and Professor Leonard K Cheng, Lingnan’s President, was invited to give a presentation at the Times Higher Education (THE) webinar “Learning from Global university SDG Activities”. The title of Prof Cheng’s presentation was “Lingnan University’s Research Journey on Sustainable Development Goals”. The webinar provided an opportunity for knowledge sharing about how universities in the region have embedded sustainability into their operations, and the impact of monitoring and capturing data about SDG activities.

The international webinar, which was moderated from London, took place on 20 January, and brought together representatives of universities from Thailand, thought leaders in education from across the APAC region, and representatives of the Thai government.  Along with Prof Cheng, speakers hailed from the University of Saint Joseph Macao, the University of Auckland, and the University of Sydney. 

In his presentation, Prof Cheng shared Lingnan’s achievements in the THE Impact Ratings 2020. Lingnan ranked second worldwide for “Quality Education”, ranked in the top 50 for “No Poverty”, and came 71st in promoting “Decent Work and Economic Growth”. The rankings corroborate Lingnan’s core values of “Education: Care for Learning”, and “Research: Impact With Care”.

Guided by the motto of “Education for Service”, Lingnan is committed to serve society with its research and knowledge transfer (KT) activities, and the phrase “Impact with Care” encapsulates the University’s research aspirations and the major directions of its research. The four major research directions are committing to society (social relevance), advancing entrepreneurship (innovation), revitalising heritage, and embracing sustainability. “Our interdisciplinary research programmes focus on sustainability, a goal that spans many aspects of human endeavour. This research travels across faculties,” said Prof Cheng.

KT with a strong impact is another important aim of Lingnan’s research programmes, and Prof Cheng highlighted the University’s “Fighting COVID @ Lingnan” campaign, which aimed to serve the University’s students and society at large. Referring to the campaign, Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee (UGC) commended Lingnan’s continuous efforts to promote KT activities which have a strong social impact.

To further promote Lingnan’s research and KT projects with social significance, and to reach out to an international audience, the University is preparing an “Impact with CARE Video Series” which illustrates research and KT projects related to the UN’s SDGs. Twelve videos with research focuses, including Social Policy, Poverty, Conservation, Ethnic Minorities in HK, Ageing and Gerontechnology, Well-being of Children and Young People in HK, Pollutions, Service-learning, Mental Health, International Trade, Cultural Heritage and History, are being developed with a view to premiering later in 2021.