The inaugural SDG July Camp hosted by SJTU officially closed on July 16th, 2022, at 2 pm Beijing time. Around 150 participants attended the online closing ceremony, including instructors and students from 35 partner universities in 22 countries from across five continents.

The SDG July Camp took the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as the framework to integrate multiple disciplines in a series of coursework and engaged students from different cultural backgrounds in collaborative learning settings. Global sustainable development is closely related to the future of mankind, and the SDG July Camp took a global perspective to broaden the students' horizons and develop their problem-solving skills. The SDG July Camp consisted of 11 elective courses, which included topics such as poverty and mental health, clean energy, and sustainable cities and communities. The online sessions were delivered through the communication platform Feishu/Lark. Participants consisted of undergraduate, graduate students and PhD candidates. Under the guidance of instructors from around the world, the international and domestic students formed teams to conduct discussions and come up with solutions to complex problems.

Professor YANG Jie, Director of the SJTU Academic Affairs Division, welcomed participants of the online event. Professor YANG expressed his gratitude to colleagues from the International Affairs Division, the Academic Affairs Division, and the faculty members who contributed to the inaugural SDG July Camp. He also conveyed his most sincere appreciation to the instructors and students who participated in the program from home and abroad. Professor YANG said, the world is undergoing profound changes, and we are facing increasing complexity and uncertainty. There is a growing demand for people, especially the young generation, to develop the ability to understand different cultures, be aware of and respect different voices, and collaboratively solve problems that transcend national borders. SJTU is actively exploring new modes of international cooperation, so as to encourage domestic as well as international students to constantly improve themselves, realize their potential, and build a more inclusive, diverse, and sustainable future for the global society.

Welcome speech by Yang Jie, Director of Academic Affairs Office at Shanghai Jiao Tong University

The welcome speech was followed by course presentations. Representatives from each course shared the reports in different formats such as slides, videos and posters. In addition, there were student representatives sharing their stories and thoughts upon the course. This year, SJTU SDG July Camp fully adopted English as the teaching medium. During the program, the students were trained to think independently about real-life problems, improve their abilities to apply the knowledge in real-life situations, and cultivate their abilities how to integrate resources from different channels. Through interdisciplinary research and cross-cultural communication, the students practiced their critical thinking and interpersonal skills. During the three-week study, the students overcame the barriers against time differences and online communication difficulties, and accomplished the course with enthusiasm.

Then, a questionnaire was distributed to the students, hearing about their experiences of the program. According to the 100 questionnaires live data, a total of 94% students rated their experience as “four stars” or “five stars” on a five-star scale.

 A glimpse of the course presentations

Representatives of Chinese and foreign teachers and students gave speeches

Screenshots of some of the online course interactions

Luo Peng, Director of the International Affairs Division of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, made a concluding speech.

Lastly, Professor LUO Peng, Director of the International Affairs Division of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, gave a concluding speech. Professor LUO expressed his gratitude to all the colleagues who had been very supportive for this program and congratulated the great success achieved by all participating students. He encouraged students to continuously raise awareness in SDGs, further identify their research interests and realize their potential in the future.