Goal 17

Research for a cause

The Social Impact Lab partnered with national nonprofit Women Forward International and international non-profit The Sakena Fund on a long-term research project that helps continue the education of women in Afghanistan. In this program, Lynn University students take on a new assignment each year, building on what has been done before to reach the project’s goals. Students have worked on identifying some of the most viable curriculum materials for women's education, as well as finding partners for an online university that would be accessible to women in the country. The research progress is presented annually in a virtual forum and published by Women Forward International.

The project focuses on SDG4 and SDG5, while also furthering SDG17 through long-term partnerships for the goals.

Hospitality Partnerships

Lynn University partners with Dart in the Cayman Islands to bring free, certificate-bearing education to selected students. Lynn University faculty and staff train Caymanian students in an intensive two-week training course that prepares them for work in the field of hospitality management. As an organization, Dart is committed to sustainability, ensuring that the sustainable development goals are at the forefront of this work.

By executing interdisciplinary partnerships with other civil society organizations in the U.S. and abroad focusing on capacity building in a variety of fields, Lynn University helps further target 17.9 of SDG17, which focuses on enhancing international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries.

Millennium Campus Network

Lynn University is a member of the Millennium Campus Network, a global non-profit convening and training 21^st century social impact leaders. Lynn University students participate annually in the UN Millennium Fellowship, through which they develop projects tackling a variety of Sustainable Development Goals. Students connect with a global cohort of fellows through virtual webinars and a virtual graduation, while highlighting their own work to the Lynn University community.

Through these project-based fellowships, students explore all 17 SDGs.

Comfort Cases + Citizenship Project

Every year, the entire first-year class at Lynn University participates in the annual Comfort Cases Packing Party. This partnership between Lynn University and Comfort Cases focuses on helping children experiencing foster care and exposes the students to the challenges of a youth in the foster care system. Since 2018, Lynn University has packed over 4,000 cases for foster care youth in South Florida.

Memberships for Sustainable Development

Lynn University holds memberships with a variety of institutions related to sustainable development, including: United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), University Global Coalition, and the Global Council for Science and the Environment (GCSE), among others.

By belonging and cooperating with international organizations focusing on Sustainable Development, Lynn University helps further target 17.16 of SDG17, which focuses on enhancing the global partnership for Sustainable Development through multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial resources.

Citizenship Project

Courses in the Citizenship Project focus on a civic issue, problem, or topic and will engage in experiential learning opportunities and community service work with local, community-based partners. Thematic areas for the courses include homelessness, environmental sustainability, and urban renewal. In AY 23–24, The Citizenship Project worked with 23 community organizational partners.

Through these project-based courses, students explore all 17 SDGs.

By partnering with civil society organizations working on sustainable development, Lynn University helps further target 17.17 of SDG17, which focuses on encouraging and promoting effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience, and resourcing strategic partnerships.

Measuring Sustainability Literacy

Instruction on the UN SDGs is an integral part of the core curriculum.  Students are assessed on their knowledge of the UN SDGs in their first week of classes as part of their Lynn 101 course.  Students receive instruction on the UN SDGs during Lynn 101 and in the subsequent course Citizenship Project.  At the end of Citizenship Project student knowledge about the UN SDGs is assessed again with the same survey.