Academy for Sustainable Development

Registered in the United Nations Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (UN HESI) as an SDG Partnership #SDGAction43794.

Through the Academy, we develop innovative and practical curricula for higher and vocational education institutions to support their role as drivers of sustainable socio-economic development. In collaboration with universities, we design advanced programs and courses that bridge the educational sector with civil society and SMEs, promote an entrepreneurial mindset and inclusive digital literacy, increase youth employment, and enable digital and green transition in the European Union. It contributes to the Next Generation EU, The Digital Agenda for Europe, The strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training 2020 (ET2020), the European Skills Agenda.

Programs in collaboration with Universities

Advanced Blue and Circular Economy Program

Delivered by the academic network of the Blue KmC² Living Labs, this educational program is designed to equip students and professionals with the knowledge and skills to make a positive impact in the evolving landscape of sustainable development.

Sustainable Actions Design and Delivery

We believe that the best way to trigger change at scale is to enable present and aspiring Action Leaders to make a difference. The goal of this program is to equip you with innovative concepts and proven best practices in sustainable development and social impact and show how they can be applied to your own project or cause.

Lockdown Economy Challenge

The program was tailor-made and run in universities in Europe and Latin America. It allowed them to increase the remote engagement of students and their participation in social impact innovation while being completely safe for all people involved. SDSN is featuring it as a program Accelerating Education for SDGs at Universities. Click here to learn more

Programs for Companies

Sustainability Training Workshops

Gain unique insights into What does Sustainable Development mean and how does it affect your business? What is the United Nations Agenda 2030? What is the difference between SDG, ESG, and SBT? How do they apply to what your company and its geographic footprint? How can you put this knowledge into practice? Click here to learn more

Trainings in collaboration with the UN

UN ECOSOC 2024 Partnership Forum - Side Event

On Jan 30, 2024, together with UNCTAD, Think Tank AlterContacts hosted a virtual side event "Circular Economy for SDGs: Inspiring Transformations Towards Sustainable, Resilient, and Innovative Solutions". It presented the circular economy as a holistic framework that reinforces the principles of the 2030 Agenda, addressing poverty eradication, resilience, and innovation in the face of multiple crises. During the event, the new initiative - Kilometro Circular - was officially launched. Press here for full details

2023 HLPF SDGs Learning, Training and Practice

On July 13, 2023, together with UNCTAD, Think Tank AlterContacts hosted a Round Table on Urban Entrepreneurship. It was part of the 2023 edition of the SDGs Learning, Training & Practice – a series of capacity-building sessions held annually as a Special Event for the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. More details here

Recognition

Recognized as contributors to Education for SDG

Lockdown Economy Challenge: Sustainable and Innovative Entrepreneurship for Students has been recognized as a case study for Accelerating Education for the SDGs in Universities by SDSN. The program facilitates a successful school-to-work transition. It has been implemented in six universities, involving 400 students across Europe and Latin America. More about the case study here

Registration as a Partner for UN HESI

AlterContacts Academy for Sustainable Development was registered as a partner of the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative. HESI was created in the run-up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). The partners of the initiative are UN-DESA, UNESCO, UNEP, UN Global Compact's Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) initiative, UNU and UN-Habitat.

Our Educational Partners

Implementation

The Academy program is organized and coordinated by Think Tank AlterContacts. It is carried out through collaboration with local and regional partners, primarily universities and schools. There is no toll on partner resources.

Think Tank AlterContacts provides step-by-step guides and supporting materials on how to set it up and run it in any educational institution to assure the quality of the execution is consistent across geographies and different partnerships.

The Think Tank plays the role of integrator, connecting schools, universities and facilitating social innovation involving partners from a wide network of experts in the entrepreneurial and academic world. It involves local foundations, NGOs, government institutions, private organizations, and associations.

Making University Education More Dynamic

Programs of AlterContacts Academy for Sustainable Development enable Educational Institutions to

Enhance Academic Innovation
Engage students remotely in international social action
Ensure smooth school-to-work transition
Enable students to practice active citizenship and sustainability mindset
Expose and prepare students for the reality of both entrepreneurial and work-life
Partake in the United Nations registered initiative, contribute to SDGs and receive measurable proof of that contribution
Improve the Index of the university, especially in Impact Ranking connected to SDGs
Increase university reputation and possibility for receiving financial support and certifications.