UNNC successfully held an SDGs Journalism Winter Workshop on 10 January 2023. Five UNNC staff taught at the online workshop, which brought 51 students from eight universities. During the workshop, five academics from Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS), CELE and Faculty of Science and Engineering (FoSE) delivered five lectures. They are Introduction to SDG journalism, Localizing SDGs, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Communicating the SDGs, and Communicating SDGs Stories, the Innovative Way.
The Winter Workshop, taught in English, enabled students from Xiamen University, Chongqing University, Lanzhou University, Suzhou University, Beijing Normal University - Hong Kong Baptist University United International College, Ningbo University, NingboTech and Zhejiang Wanli University to obtain the latest knowledge and skills to enhance SDGs news reporting.
The Winter Workshop is part of the "Sustainable Development Goals in Journalism Reporting" (SDGsJR) project funded by EU Erasmus+. It is a 36-month project funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission. It is implemented by a consortium of nine partners from six countries: Spain, Romania, Luxembourg, Cambodia, China and Malaysia. UNNC is part of this consortium.
The team is made up of five academics from FHSS, CELE and FoSE led by Dr Ivy Shixin Zhang, Associate Professor in Journalism from the School of International Communications. The “SDGsJR” project aims to develop a journalism curriculum in line with sustainable development, and to increase the knowledge of students in ICT-based practical methods. All the project's activities are centered on the goal of developing a long-term sustainable course program in HEIs that is connected to labor market and societal needs.
More related developments include two study visits for the project partners. The first study visit will be hosted by the local partner in Malaysia and the UNNC team led by Dr Shixin Ivy Zhang be part of this visit in May. The second study visit will be hosted by UNNC in September.
A follow-up NAA module Reporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Level II (NAA1747) will be offered this spring semester. As an important part of the EU Erasmus+ Programme, this boost module will be taught by a combination of academics and practitioners of SDGs journalism. All students from Year 2 and above are invited and strongly encouraged to take this module.