The University has recently undertaken a pilot project to kite-mark all undergraduate courses in our Faculty of Science and Engineering with the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) they address. This will enable prospective students to immediately see which SDGs the course they are interested in links to and how that learning will make a difference in the world. 

 The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are the world’s call to action on the most pressing challenges facing humanity. At The University of Manchester, we address the SDGs through our operations, teaching and learning, public engagement, and research – particularly in partnership with our students. 

Prospective students looking at our course profiles will be able to understand how we’re addressing the UN SDGs and the contribution they will be able to make. Led by our innovative research, our socially responsible teaching ensures that all our graduates are informed, inspired and equipped to address global socio-political and environmental challenges. 

This project continues to highlight our world-leading place in relation to the SDGs and shine a spotlight on the importance of this in everything we do. We have consistently been ranked in the top ten in the world in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings since its inception in 2019. 

Dr Jennifer O’Brien, the University’s Academic Lead for Sustainability Teaching and Learning, has undertaken much of the course kite marking with support from the Office for Social Responsibility. The first phase has now seen all taught courses within our Faculty of Science and Engineering displaying the appropriate SDG(s), for example, BEng Chemical Engineering addresses Goal 7, 9, 12, and 13.  

Following the successful pilot project, work is now underway for all undergraduate courses to be kite marked within our Faculty of Humanities, followed by courses offered by our Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. 

 Commenting on this work, Jen O’Brien said: “Social Responsibility is at the heart of everything we do at the University of Manchester. Kite-marking our degrees with their relevant SDGs heightens awareness of the UN’s ‘Global Compact’ whilst illustrating the impact that Manchester learning has on the world through the 43,000 strong force for change, that is our students. This process has been helpful to map the strengths of our research-led teaching to social and environmental priorities local to global, but also to identify future opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching and research.”

This project forms part of a larger project to make impactful improvements to the way we display all our course information via the web. 

See more about how we are addressing the SDGs.