Goa Institute of Management’s Centre for Social Sensitivity and Action (CSSA) and the Center for Peace Studies (CPS), Dhaka have joined hands to promote the SDGs through mutual academic collaboration

Panaji. Goa Institute of Management’s (GIM), Centre for Social Sensitivity and Action (CSSA), established in 2013 which acts as a bridge between the leading B-school and the Center for Peace Studies (CPS), established in 2020 under the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) at North South University, Dhaka have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The Institutions to which both centers belong are part of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) which was set up in 2012 under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General with a mission to promote integrated approaches to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, through education, research, policy analysis, and global cooperation.

The aim of CSSA at GIM is to promote social responsibility within and beyond its campus to achieve the goals of Agenda 2030. This aligns well with the vision of Dhaka based CPS which is to become a recognized platform in South Asia and beyond where academics, scholars, researchers and practitioners come together to create sustainable and inclusive approaches.

Prof. Ajit Parulekar, Director, Goa Institute of Management and Advisor of CSSA said on the signing of the MoU, “ This is our first agreement is the South Asia region and we look forward to forging several productive relationships in these geographies with the best institutions in the region to advance the SDGs.”

Dr. Katherine Li, Director, Office of External Affairs (OEA) & Advisor, Center for Peace Studies (CPS), SIPG North South University added, “ The main areas of the new collaboration will include joint student projects in the area of SDG 4.7 that ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.”

Prof. Divya Singhal, Chairperson CSSA shared that jointly CSSA and CPS will identify suitable themes for the projects, identify students from respective institutes and then connect them to the group. “Research Collaboration will be focused on publication towards select SDGs.

We also look forward to the exchange of faculty and students from both centers that are particularly focused on research, teaching and implementation of the SDGs,” she added.