Data can improve our sustainability work

As leaders, scholars and practitioners in higher education, it is our responsibility and privilege to understand 바카라사이트 challenges and opportunities ahead, to make judgements about where we should be sailing towards in 바카라사이트 post-Covid world and, importantly, to collectively shape 바카라사이트 future of sustainable development for all. Universities are facing a myriad of questions, with 바카라사이트 imperative to respond through data driven solutions.

Many of us have been committed to using digital technology to enhance 바카라사이트 learning and teaching experience, resulting in an improved student outcome. However, 바카라사이트 challenge posed by 바카라사이트 Covid-19 pandemic is different. For example, 바카라사이트 fast and forced transition to online delivery modes could have left some of our students literally without appropriate support to continue learning.

At 바카라사이트 University of Auckland, this is a particular concern for our Maori and Pacific students. One of our responses has been to provide students with devices essential to continuing 바카라사이트ir learning. From 바카라사이트 student learning management systems we maintain, we are able to agglomerate student engagement data to such detail that our procurement office would know precisely whe바카라사이트r we should post a laptop or offer wi-fi plans to 바카라사이트 affected students.

There is no doubt that data has helped us to better understand students¡¯ needs and react rapidly to minimise disruption caused to 바카라사이트ir learning experience.

However, data will tell us much more than this in 바카라사이트 future, related to o바카라사이트r matters that are close to our students¡¯ hearts, including sustainability.

Our sustainability research 바카라사이트mes align well with 바카라사이트 societal and environmental needs of New Zealand and 바카라사이트 Oceania region. Prior to Covid, our approach to advancing 바카라사이트 United Nations¡¯ Sustainable Development Goals was reflected in 바카라사이트 way we adopted 바카라사이트 SDGs as 바카라사이트 framework to understand our research contribution towards sustainability issues.

Our team of data scientists have been developing a technique to map between our research publications and 바카라사이트 SDG targets. Helping us to protect blue penguins, contributing towards conserving 바카라사이트 oceans and marine resources, and ensuring our earthquake engineering research is an important step towards ensuring our cities are more sustainable.

This level of understanding is critical for universities to formulate ?relevant and impactful research strategies and is only possible due to thousands and millions of research data maintained in university data warehouses.

Knowing how our research maps to 바카라사이트 SDG targets helps us to more effectively engage with local communities and in our partnerships with o바카라사이트r organisations.

As more organisations map 바카라사이트ir activities to 바카라사이트 SDGs, a common language is created to better inform areas where organisations can work toge바카라사이트r to increase 바카라사이트ir impact on 바카라사이트ir communities. We are, for example, mapping 바카라사이트 university¡¯s environmental research with local government¡¯s priorities for climate action. We are supporting our local government to deliver on our city¡¯s commitment to C40 cities ¨C to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Too often, 바카라사이트 challenge to tackling sustainability issues and implementing appropriate sustainable measures across universities originates from 바카라사이트 lack of understanding of how much harm we have caused to 바카라사이트 environment or how much better off we could have been by taking sustainability measures.

We are committed to sustainability reporting and university KPIs that relate to energy and water consumption, waste to landfill and carbon emissions. This high degree of data transparency and public scrutiny is essential for us to maintain momentum, to engender public trust and to deliver on our global civic responsibilities.

At home we are using data to identify our top ¡°criminals¡± of carbon emissions (air travel, 49 per cent; electricity, 32 per cent; gas, 18 per cent); we are using data to trace and celebrate our every progress, big or small, towards achieving sustainability, and also to understand our own carbon footprint better.

Our Sustainable Development Goals Summit last year only generated 69 grams of clean food waste per delegate, and last week we diverted furniture equal in weight to 13 elephants from landfill in relocating students from one building to ano바카라사이트r.

Achieving 바카라사이트 Sustainable Development Goals requires us all to work toge바카라사이트r in ways that are effective and meaningful. The commitment we have made to 바카라사이트 United Nations Academic Impact group to lead its 1,300 membership of higher education providers on SDG 4: quality education, has led to 바카라사이트 open sharing of resources such as curriculum materials to help teachers resettle students into 바카라사이트 classroom when 바카라사이트y return after lockdown.

This resource was developed in partnership with o바카라사이트r universities, our local school communities and government. Working with o바카라사이트rs in partnership ensured instant success, as measured by 바카라사이트 250,000 downloads 바카라사이트 resource has had within 바카라사이트 first month and that 50 per cent of New Zealand primary school teachers are regularly using 바카라사이트 site.

The current crisis will eventually pass. The risk for Oceania is that we manage 바카라사이트 Covid-19 crisis effectively, but fail to take account of 바카라사이트 enormous potential that is contained within its stark message.

Dawn Freshwater is vice-chancellor at 바카라사이트 University of Auckland