Enroll now in two new online courses around the Sustainable Development Goals

The SDG Academy, an online university that brings the latest in policy and science to a global audience, has added two new courses to its catalogue. Anyone interested in global sustainability can enroll now for free in “Feeding a Hungry Planet: Agriculture, Nutrition and Sustainability” and “The Best Start in Life: Early Childhood Development for Sustainable Development.” Both courses include online lectures, readings and Google Hangouts and are taught by top researchers in their fields.

The SDG Academy, which provides education around achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, is an effort of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Association. To learn more about the academy and past courses, visit the SDG Academy website or watch the trailer below:

“Feeding a Hungry Planet: Agriculture, Nutrition and Sustainability” focuses on the critical role of agriculture in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals and on the challenges of feeding a growing planet. The course begins on 20 March 2017 and is built around seven modules, such as “Food systems for nutritional security and better health” and “Rural development for poverty alleviation.” The course is led by Achim Dobermann of Rothamsted Research and is taught by leading researchers in the United States and the Netherlands.

From the course description:

This course provides a historical overview of the past 50 years of agricultural development, the consequences of continuing along this trajectory, and key levers for improvement. The course highlights key technological advancements and interventions to produce more and better quality food while simultaneously achieving social and environmental goals.

“The Best Start in Life: Early Childhood Development for Sustainable Development” focuses on how the bodies and brains of children develop over time and the implications for sustainability. The course began on 27 February, but audiences can continue to enroll now. Course instructors include Hirokazu Yoshikawa of New York University and Aisha Yousafzai of the Harvard Chan School of Public Health.

According to the course description, the lessons will focus on several key topics:

• The ways in which children grow during this most rapid phase of development (physical, social, cognitive, emotional)
• How the environment interacts with the body to build brain architecture and influence children’s growth and development
• Milestones of child development, what is it that children know and can do at birth, by the second year, by preschool age
• How child development and its contexts vary across cultures and societies 
• How can programs and policies support children’s development?  
• How can they best be implemented to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals related to children and youth? 
• How can innovation push forward the field of ECD program development and how can you participate?