The Diplomat
The Carolina Foundation, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE Universities) have announced the fifth edition of the University, Knowledge and Agenda 2030 Awards for Bachelor’s and Master’s degree theses dedicated to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Specifically, the aim of these awards is to distinguish students who have completed their Final Degree Projects (TFG) or Master’s Degree Projects (TFM) in any area of knowledge and, necessarily, under one or more of the topics covered by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda.
The works must be linked to one of the five “P’s” of the 2030 Agenda: care for the Planet, the development of People, a Prosperity that leaves no one behind, Peace, justice and strong institutions and Partnerships between all actors. Two prizes will be awarded, one for the TFG category and the other for the TFM category. The Call will remain open from November 2 to December 11, 2023.
The awards are open to students with citizenship of a member country of the Ibero-American Community or of any state of the European Union, who have completed their studies leading to a degree (Bachelor or Master) during the academic year 2022-2023 and who have defended their TFG or TFM in a higher education institution associated to CRUE Universities. The winning works will receive a diploma and will be published on paper and electronically on the websites of the Carolina Foundation, the AECID and CRUE Universities.
In the previous edition, in the TFG category, the award was given to the work La Rentabilidad Sostenible de los Bonos Verdes (The Sustainable Profitability of Green Bonds), by Ana María Aido Vázquez, tutored by Professor Sonia Margarita Rodríguez and defended at the University of Vigo. In the TFM category, the best work was Mujeres STEM: Motivaciones de las niñas chilenas de Educación Secundaria para escoger áreas de profundización relacionadas con las disciplinas STEM (STEM Women: Motivations of Chilean girls in Secondary Education to choose areas of specialization related to STEM disciplines), by Katherine Quispe, tutored by Professor Alejandra Montané and defended at the University of Barcelona.
AECID, the main management body of Spanish Cooperation and attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, bases much of its work guidelines on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in 2015 by the UN and which governs global development plans until 2030 through 17 SDGs.
Likewise, both the mandate and the lines of action of the Carolina Foundation -created in 2000 by the Government to promote cultural relations and cooperation in educational and scientific matters between Spain and the Ibero-American community of nations- are geared towards achieving the SDGs, especially the fourth, which refers to quality, inclusive and equitable education and explicitly incorporates university education.
CRUE Universities is a non-profit association made up of 76 Spanish universities, 50 public and 26 private, which acts as the main interlocutor between universities and the central government.
