Knowledge for our common future

The launch of the United Nations document Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was no less than a turning-point in global history, the culmination of a historical process of negotiations and an exceptional agreement between sovereign nation states.

A keyword in the 2030 Agenda is 'transformation'. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) the Agenda sets out represent a new direction for economic development — economic action will now be directed towards what is good for the environment and the ambition of leaving no-one behind. 'Prosperity' shall no longer simply mean 'economic growth'.

• Registration for the conference is now open.

The demands for transformation may seem overwhelming. Without the universities — as knowledge creators, actors in implementing the goals, and role models transforming themselves in line with the 17 goals — the world cannot make these fundamental changes.

Five plenaries and a number of workshops will relate to interdisciplinary topics raised by the SDGs.

For questions about the scientific content, please contact the scientific steering committee.

For more information and for practical questions about the conference, please contact the conference secretariat.