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Dr. Bushra Naeem, an Associate Professor in the Department of Information Technology at the Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS) in Quetta, Pakistan talks about the changes in the education systems and the role of educators during the COVID-19 crisis.

Dr. Michael Moore, Assistant Professor of psychology at the Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, of Adelphi University in New York, talks about the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of students in his interview with UNAI.

On 1 June 2020 UNAI hosted a webinar on the theme “Rethinking Radicalization”, as part of the "75 for UN75: 75 Minutes of Conversation" online dialogue series.

On 29 May 2020, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) held a webinar entitled 75 Minutes of Conversation: Rethinking Peacekeeping. The webinar is the first in the UNAI “75 for UN75” online dialogue series, and featured reflections of prominent speakers on the evolution of peacekeeping since the founding of the United Nations.

In this series commemorating World Oceans Day, the University of Bergen explores various aspects of sustainable oceans and how universities can contribute to the stewardship of this natural resource. In this article, the university explores the role of education in ocean science and sustainability.

Madalitso Kamenya, a student pursuing his master's degree in Agricultural Economics at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, shares about the struggles and unique opportunities presented by the COVID-19 crisis.

The University of Pretoria (UP), a UNAI member in South Africa serving as the UNAI SDG Hub for Goal 2: Zero Hunger, carries out programs that support students from disadvantaged communities through an assessment of their nutritional needs and providing food supplies to enable them to continue their learning online without the added burden of food insecurity.

The School of Industrial Engineering at the Guayana campus of Andrés Bello Catholic University, a UNAI member institution in Venezuela, has launched a project to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) for local health professionals.

The students and faculty of Ahfad University for Women (AUW), a UNAI member institution in Sudan serving as the UNAI Hub for Goal 5 Gender Equality, are actively responding to the pandemic using the intellectual and personnel resources on their campus.

In this interview, Talitha Dias, a Brazilian lawyer currently pursuing a master’s degree in International Contractual Relations at at the Federal University of Pernambuco, spoke to UNAI about how she quickly devised a Plan B for her studies and work as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Listen to our interview with Hana Ibrahim, a medical student at the Université de Paris, who has been volunteering at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Lariboisière Hospital in Paris during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Bowen Xu, a student of Shanghai International Studies University, shares his story of working from home as a UN intern in New York, and the different ways in which COVID-19 has impacted his life in this interview with UNAI.

United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) talks to students, educators and researchers in different parts of the world to find out how COVID-19 has affected them and how they are coping with the changes, highlighting the lessons learned and potential positive outcomes of the global lockdown for higher education.

This article was contributed by Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, president of the World Leadership Alliance – Club de Madrid, and the sixth president of Latvia. As the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes more powerful and omnipresent in people’s lives, leading institutions like the United Nations are facing the challenge of establishing principles and guidelines that ensure human dignity and equality, and transcend differences in culture and religious beliefs.

This article is contributed by Nazli Choucri, Professor of Political Science, Senior Faculty at the Center of International Studies (CIS), and Faculty Affiliate at the Institute for Data, Science, and Society (IDSS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As advances in AI, Internet, social media, and threats to cybersecurity jointly create a new worldwide ecosystem, the Social Contract 2020 has been introduced, framed, and further refined to build new dimensions and principles, which would shape the future of international law.

Alex Pentland, director of MIT Connection Science, shares his vision of a new social contract, that provides solutions for managing civic and government systems, for digital privacy and cybersecurity, and for providing more agile, inclusive, and transparent responses to societies’ problems and for funding of supporting infrastructure.

Vinton G. Cerf, Vice president and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google presents a message "from the future" on the potential of new technologies to tackle the challenges of climate change, energy storage and information sharing, calling for bold initiatives to re-invent the world.

The 2030 Agenda highlights the role of academia in the implementation of the SDGs. In that sense, the Federal University of Lavras, a UNAI member institution in Brazil, researches on ways to address the dilemmas for achieving sustainable development.

Emmanuel Inganji and Maureen Wachira, Millennium Fellows for the class of 2019 are contributing to the fight against global warming through the 'Adopt a Tree' initiative that has planted 150,000 trees in partnership with local community, universities and a whole network of supporters. This project is advancing SDG 13: Climate Action.

Zulaikha Zainal Efendi, a Millennium Fellow for the Class of 2019, started Project Tote in her community to reduce single-use plastic waste from plastic bags by bringing local people together to share and donate tote bags. Her Millennium Fellowship Project focuses on SDG 13: Climate Change.