Symposium – Integrating the Sustainable Development Goals into Materials Science Research
Thursday February 16, 2021
The symposium consisted of two separate activities (morning and afternoon) and was held online.
Context
The implementation of sustainable development (SD) has become imperative. One of the facets of this implementation consists of integrating SD into university research, which must become a vector that percolates the principles of SD among students in order to train the next generation in transdisciplinary issues, as well as among all the actors of innovation ecosystems. The operationalization of SD thus involves networking between the different stakeholders who collaborate with universities, and their exchanges to strengthen the capacities and resilience of the ecosystems concerned. We can thus think of the implication of research with businesses, municipalities or the population.
To work in the same direction, all stakeholders must have clear objectives. As such, the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) plans to include criteria related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in grant applications. These new directions will encourage researchers to consider more the principles of SD in their work since the SDGs are transversal and make it possible to respond to various issues. Taking the SDGs into account represents particular challenges for research in materials science, particularly for fundamental work, because environmental and especially social issues constitute questions that are sometimes difficult to integrate.
This webinar aims to stimulate reflection on the need to integrate the SDGs into science and technology research, and on the challenges that this represents.
Program
Morning| Open to all
10h00 | Welcome word
10h10 | The Sustainable Development Goals: beyond the technological mirage? (FR)
Liliana Diaz, Hydro-Québec Institute in Environment, Development and Society of Laval University (EDS Institute)
10h40 | The Quebec research community as a driver of the SDGs
Janice Bailey, Scientific Director of the FRQ – Nature and Technology
11h10 | Break
11h15 | The transformational power of sustainable ICT (FR)
Mohamed Cheriet, Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Research in the Operationalization of Sustainable Development (CIRODD), Professor at the École de Technologie Supérieure
11h55 | Closing remarks
Afternoon | Reserved to CERMA members
13h30 | Presentation of the workshop
13h35 | Workshop : integrating SD into research
Determining which SDGs teams are working on
15h05 | Break
15h10 | Return to the workshops
Summary of ideas expressed
16h10 |
Closing remarks
Watch the webinar
Tools
The Sustainable Development Goals
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development launched in 2015 in the wake of the Rio+20 Earth Summit in 2012. There are 17 in number, and accompanied by 169 targets and 244 indicators, the SDGs constitute a framework that guides international action to improve the quality of life of populations, while maintaining the capacity of ecosystems to support all forms of life. The SDGs address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, peace and justice.
To know more
We invite you to discover the UN’s sustainable development goals at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Action plan on environmental responsibility in research
On January 26, 2021, the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) launched the Action Plan on Environmental Responsibility in Research.
Watch presentation of the action plan.
Discover the Action plan.
Contributing to the protection of the environment is a duty that transcends all sectors of society, including the scientific community. To support members of the scientific community through this responsibility, the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) are deploying their Action Plan on Environmental Responsibility in Research.
