This summer, four students from the 4EU+ Alliance had the opportunity to participate in the SDG Summer School in Geneva. They worked on innovative projects aimed at addressing global challenges and gained valuable insights into sustainable development. Read on to explore their firsthand reflections and testimonials, written by the students to share their transformative journey.
By Nida Murad, Hana Kroupová, Ngoc-Hung Hoang and Tanvir Ayub Rafi:
For the entirety of July, we, together with students from across the globe, got to experience the SDG Summer School organized by the University of Geneva and the SDG Solution Space. In the environment of International Geneva, we learned about the Sustainable Development Goals, innovation and work of various international and non-governmental organizations.
We also got to put our experience and skills for our project work. In teams of three to four, we worked on our own challenge – a real-life problem introduced by NGOs or IOs from among their scope of work. Some examples were devising youth-led activities for fighting malaria, creating AI-based tools to use in dealing with migration, or developing classroom activities for climate change education. Our work throughout the duration of the Summer School entailed creating a solution that contributes to this area. For our solutions and projects, we also used many new technologies, such as AI, OpenSource and crowdsourcing platforms to collect, process and present data and information available to us.
Another area of learning was presentation skills. Every week, teams came together to introduce their project through a short pitch, where the main goal was to explain the background, our work and timeline for the remainder of the course to the jury as well as the other teams. This serves not only to track our progress, but also as a presentation to our challenge-givers, who are present throughout the pitches.
Throughout the entire course, we had many talks and discussions with inspiring people working in sustainability, development, health, IT, and many more fields. We learned more about not only their jobs but also their stories and careers, and we could discuss our projects and work outside of the Summer School with them. We also visited several international organizations stationed in Geneva to discover more about their scope of work, contributions, and relationships, as well as the international environment itself.
Overall, this was a very exciting experience for all of us. We’d like to thank the entire team at the SDG Summer School for organizing such a unique event, and the 4EU+ Alliance for supporting this interesting and enriching experience and our participation in it through generous stipends.
I was back at it in my all-time favorite city, Geneva, for an epic Summer School adventure!
I spent an amazing month with a fantastic group of people from all over the world, solving real-world problems with incredible mentors.
Our team developed a cutting edge LLM RAG data retrieval platform from several reports, designed to help local actors implement well informed nature based solutions in Sub Saharan Africa. Huge thanks to the organizers of the summer school, especially
Francois Grey, Jemy Jacob, Sophie Schegg, İuri Carvalho, and Ivonne Arica Ruiz , and a big thank you to the 4EU+ Alliance for the scholarship. This truly was one of the best summers I ever had—from taking dips in the lake to meeting UN officials, it had it all!
The SDG Summer School in Geneva was an incredible opportunity to actively engage with real-world problems and explore innovative solutions. The setting in Geneva, with its concentration of international organizations and the people who represent them, provided a great environment for learning and meaningful connection.
Working on group projects in intercultural teams was also a truly rewarding experience. It gave me the opportunity to enhance my teamwork skills, refine my time management while preparing presentations, and sharpen my pitching abilities as we shared our ideas with stakeholders. I am excited to use all the knowledge gained through our team research and preparation in my future studies and career and would like to once again thank the organizers of the Summer school for all the work they put in to create this space for participants to connect and learn from each other.
The SDG Summer School was a very enriching experience. Not only did we get to learn about Sustainable Development and the work of international and non-governmental organizations, but we also had hands-on experience in working on our own project to contribute to a real world challenge. Our team worked on a support system to improve the sharing of health data among different countries, specifically to expand the use of existing data sharing networks and to make it easier for countries to join such networks in terms of targeted goals and milestones.
Another important agenda item was the Brown Bag Lunches, which were presentations and discussions about the work of various international and non-governmental organizations given by people who have been working with them. It was very interesting to hear about their work, careers and stories, and also to get some inspiration and career advice from people who have devoted their work to this area.
Participating in the SDG Summer School in Geneva was a professional experience that significantly broadened my level of thinking. Over the course of a month, I had the privilege of working alongside a diverse group of individuals from around the world, all united by a shared commitment to addressing global challenges. Our project, focused on developing a prototype to help teenagers understand complex climate prediction models, was a perfect mixture of my passion for climate action and education. Under the mentorship of Dr. David Wallom from the University of Oxford, we were able to bring our vision to life, and I was thrilled when our project won “First Place”, earning us an opportunity to present it in Paris this September 2024.
The collaborative environment in Geneva, with its culture of international organizations, was incredibly inspiring. Working in intercultural teams not only enhanced my teamwork and communication skills but also provided a unique opportunity to connect with UN officials and other experts in the field. The experience reinforced my commitment to sustainable development and structured me with the tools and confidence to pursue my future goals. I’m deeply grateful to the organizers and the 4EU+ Alliance for this incredible opportunity, which I believe will have a lasting impact on my career and personal growth.