26 BRAC University students chosen as Millennium Fellows to advance SDGs

A total of 26 students from BRAC University have been selected for Millennium Fellowship in 2024 for undertaking social impact projects advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) principles.

The announcement came at an event titled “Millennium Fellowship Class of 2024 Cohort Commencement” organized at BRAC University on September 14.The Millennium Fellowship is run by the UNAI, an initiative that engages institutions of higher education with the UN for the SDGs, and Millennium Campus Network (MCN), a Boston-based, global non-profit convening and training 21st-century social impact leaders.

The semester-long leadership development program involves undertaking a social impact project­—either as individuals or in groups—to advance one or more of the 17 SDGs and 10 UNAI principles.

Millennium Fellows convene to learn from and challenge each other and develop a plan of action. A certificate of recognition is awarded once they meet their own goals and complete the Fellowship graduation requirements.

The projects of the 26 Millennium Fellows from BRAC University are on:

—curbing pollution and caring for stray dogs

—eradicating discrimination through sustainable solutions

—educating youths on developing skills early

—addressing climate change impacts by recycling, reducing and refurbishing

—ensuring safe water at Dhaka’s Korail slum

—offering learning opportunities and essential nutrition to disadvantaged children

—enabling financial independence of autistic people

—detecting contamination in meat

—encouraging donations of used textbooks of higher secondary education

—raising awareness on mental health

—raising awareness on drug abuse

—countering traditional leather industry’s hazards by producing alternative material from fruit peels

—raising awareness on handwashing

—raising awareness on suicide prevention

—encouraging responsible disposal of plastics in rural areas

—enabling public private collaboration on curbing marine pollution

—raising awareness on beta thalassemia

—promoting human rights transcending cultural divides and debunking misconceptions

—reducing food waste through surplus redistribution

—raising awareness on avoiding single-use plastic

This year, Millennium Fellows were selected from a record-breaking 52,581 applicants hailing from 6,000+ universities worldwide. The Class of 2024 consists of 4,000+ driven undergraduates at 280+ universities in 48 nations.

The fellowship commencement event was attended by Dr Samia Huq, Dean of the School of General Education and Professor of Anthropology, and Fahmida Rahman, Program Coordinator and Lecturer, School of General Education.

Fahmida Rahman urged the Millennium Fellows to ensure that their projects have a meaningful impact, pointing out that small changes in local communities lead to global changes.

Dr Samia Huq said the projects were hallmarks of the education imparted at BRAC University. She recommended developing the ability to think and listen, building on multiple perspectives, keeping an open mind and using academic learnings in reasoning to address problems.

Afterwards, an informal workshop on “Design Thinking for Civic Engagement” was organized.

To know who the 26 Millennium Fellows are from BRAC University, visit https://www.millenniumfellows.org/class-of-2024-fellows