About


APRU SDG Education for Global Citizenship: The Program at a Glance

The 2025 program is

chaired by Chulalongkorn University
with Universiti Malaya as Vice-Chair.

In partnership with the UN, it is co-designed with the Chinese University of Hong KongKyushu University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Background

In addition to the challenges of the pandemic during recent years, the world is experiencing increasing conflicts, violence, and injustice. A sense of solidarity in the face of these challenges has brought people from all continents closer together to support each other and work toward better futures. This is creating an unprecedented momentum for global-level societal transformation. It is in this context that a core group of six APRU member universities launched the APRU SDG4GC in 2022 to open a new avenue of international engagement for students and faculty members working with multiple stakeholders in society. As key institutions of higher learning, universities have a clear responsibility to nurture inclusive culture and respect for diversity. This is even more critical today, when the world is undergoing dynamic transitions that demand the resolution of interconnected challenges. The unique network of APRU has been harnessed to cultivate new intercultural, international, and transdisciplinary learning opportunities for participating students, exposing them to a diverse range of cultures and practices. The program has also encouraged active learning initiatives by students themselves through mentorship activities. 

Students will

  • develop a broad array of perspectives and deepen their understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the involvement of unique case studies from APRU network members. 
  • develop and understanding of SDG3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) and SDG16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and larger societal issues faced by their own communities and comparatively, across other communities represented in the cohort. 
  • gain in-depth knowledge, wisdom and inspiration from actors on the ground in Malaysia or Thailand via onsite community engagement. 
  • develop ethical understanding and practices of community-engaged research.  
  • develop skills and understanding of design thinking and social innovation as a tool to design and prototype a new initiative to address a community challenge.    
  • develop intercultural communication, research, coordination, and presentation skills by learning and working together with a diverse group of students and mentors.   

Program

  • foster global citizenship via SDG education/learning. 
  • provide new intercultural, international, and transdisciplinary learning opportunities for the participants. 
  • co-create knowledge for sustainability via multi-stakeholder engagements, including UN linkages. 
  • build knowledge of global issues and global literacy among students. 

Resource persons


Resource persons from diverse backgrounds are at the core of APRU SDG4GC.
Meet our resource persons for
2025 program!

Dr. Ronnakorn Vaiyavuth
Head

Deputy Executive Director: Innovation and Commercialization, Chulalongkorn School of Integrated Innovation (CSII), Chulalongkorn University

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suwithida Charungkaittikul

Director, General Education Center,
Chulalongkorn University

Prof. Dr. Natalie Konomi

Vice President for International Affairs,
Kyushu University

Prof. Dr. Thomas Schneider

Chief Executive, APRU; Founder of PALAC

Mr. Ruhimat Soerakoesoemah

Head of the Subregional Office for South-East Asia,
UN ESCAP

Mr. Savinda Ranathunga

Regional Youth Project Manager,
UNDP Asia and the Pacific

Prof. Taninee Sahakitrungruang

Assistant Dean for Graduate Affairs, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University; Advisory Group member, APRU Global Health Program

Dr. Jaime Jayapalan

Senior Lecturer, Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya

Ms. Elodie Jacquet

Political Science Department, Simon Fraser University; Principal, Banyan Consulting

Ms. Michiko Yoshida
Project Director

Director, Div. of Global Networking and Engagement, Office of International Affairs and Global Network, Chulalongkorn University

Mrs. Rafiza Hashim

Director of International Student and Mobility Centre, Marketing and Academic Services Department (MASD), Universiti Malaya

Ms. Michiko Yoshida
Chair

Director, Div. of Global Networking and Engagement, Office of International Affairs and Global Network, Chulalongkorn University

Prof. Dr. Natalie Konomi

Vice President for International Affairs,
Kyushu University

Ms. Shally Fan

Director of Academic Links,
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Ms. Adriana Rojas

Senior Director, Networks and Student Programs,
APRU International Secretariat

Ms. Liang Guo

Deputy Director, International Affairs Division,
Shanghai Jiao Tong University

… coming soon …

Dr. Ronnakorn Vaiyavuth

Deputy Executive Director: Innovation and Commercialization, Chulalongkorn School of Integrated Innovation (CSII), Chulalongkorn University

Mr. Savinda Ranathunga

Regional Youth Project Manager,
UNDP Asia and the Pacific

Dr. Jaime Jayapalan

Senior Lecturer, Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kim Schumacher

Associate Professor in Sustainable Finance and ESG, Kyushu University

Dr. Wang Qian

Lecturer, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Dr. Terence Yuen

Research Associate, Centre for Social Innovation Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Mr. David Galipeau

Founder, SDGx

Dr. Fung Hon Ngen

Senior Lecturer at the Department of Science and Technology Studies, Faculty of Science,
Universiti Malaya

… coming soon …

Prof. Dr. Roland Benedikter

Co-Head of the Center for Advanced Studies, EURAC Research; UNESCO Chair in Interdisciplinary Anticipation and Global-Local Transformation

Prof. Dr. Natalie Konomi

Vice President for International Affairs,
Kyushu University

Prof. Taninee Sahakitrungruang, M.D.

Assistant Dean for Graduate Affairs, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University; Advisory Group member, APRU Global Health Program

Dr. Ronnakorn Vaiyavuth

Deputy Executive Director: Innovation and Commercialization, Chulalongkorn School of Integrated Innovation (CSII), Chulalongkorn University

Dr. Jaime Jayapalan

Senior Research Officer, Health Well-Being Cluster under Research Cluster Office, Research Management & Innovation Complex, Universiti Malaya

Professor Dr. Yvonne Lim Ai Lian

Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International), Universiti Malaya

Mrs. Rafiza Hashim

Director of International Student and Mobility Centre, Marketing and Academic Services Department (MASD), Universiti Malaya

Mr. Sanon Wangsranboon

Deputy Governor, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration

Prof. Donna S.C. Chu

School Director & Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Communication, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Prof. Dr. Moy Foong Ming

Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya

Prof. Kiat Ruxrungtham, M.D.

Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University; Scientific Chair of the Chula Vaccine Research Center (ChulaVRC)

Prof. Suttipong Wacharasindhu, M.D.

Strategic Leader, School of Global Health, Chulalongkorn University

Assoc. Prof. Chitsanu Pancharoen, M.D.

Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University

Prof. Dr. Chantana Wungaeo

Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University 

Prof. Dr. Noran Naqiah Binti Mohd Hairi

Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya

Ms. Marisa Panyachiva

Partnership and Development Finance Officer, Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Thailand

Dr. Dicky Sofjan

Core Doctoral Faculty, Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada

Asst. Prof. Dr. Thibodi Buakamsri

Lecturer, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

Asst. Prof. Athapol Anunthavorasakul

Director, Center for Educational Research and Development for Sustainable Development, Chulalongkorn University

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wasana Wongsurawat

Head of History Department, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zeeda Fatimah Mohamad

Director of UM Sustainable Development Centre, Universiti Malaya

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Patricia Nora Riget

Senior Lecturer, Department of Asian and European Languages, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya

Dr. Nur Hairani Binti Abd Rahman

Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya

Dr. Welyne Jeffrey Jhom

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya

Dr. Nishakanthi A/P Gopalan

Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya

Dr. Fong Chng Saun

Senior Lecturer, Institute for Advanced Studies, Universiti Malaya

Mr. Ahmad Rifai

Co-Founder/ Executive Director, Kota Kita Foundation

Mr. Renaud Meyer

UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand, ad interim and UNDP Resident Representative

Mr. Ruhimat Soerakoesoemah

Head of the Subregional Office for South-East Asia, UN ESCAP

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tharani Loganathan

Public Health Medicine Specialist and Associate Professor of Global Health at the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Universiti Malaya

Ms. Elodie Jacquet

Political Science Department, Simon Fraser University; Principal, Banyan Consulting

Mr. Savinda Ranathunga

Regional Youth Project Manager, UNDP Asia and the Pacific

Mr. Phinith Chanthalangsy

Regional Advisor for the Social and Human Sciences at the UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok

Mr. David Guillermo Quimbayo G.

Program Officer, Networks and Students Programs, APRU

Dr. Sorasich Swangsilp

Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Dr. Lim Sin How

Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya

Dr. Jiayu Li, M.D.

School of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University

Dr. Bumi Herman

School of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University

Ms. Somsook Boonyabancha

Expert Member, Board of Directors, Community Organization Development Institute; Secretary-General, Asian Coalition for Housing Rights

Mr. Arthit Tangtatsawad

Community Organization Development Institute (CODI) Thailand

Ms. Prateep Ungsongtham Hata

Founder and Secretary-General, Duang Prateep Foundation

Xunpeng (Roc) Shi

President, International Society for Energy Transition Studies Professor, University of Technology Sydney

Ms. Iwona Spytkowski

Head of Office, UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Thailand

Ms. Elvira Goetz

UN Coordination Officer,
UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok

Ms. Madelyn Almazora

Programme Management Officer and the Regional Adviser in the Subregional Office for South-East Asia of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok

Asst. Prof. Ts. Dr. Irina Safitri Zen, CSO

Sustainability and Climate Change Specialist, Urban & Regional Planning Department, Kulliyyah Architecture & Environmental Design, International Islamic University Malaysia

Dr. Nitida Nakapreecha

Researcher, Chulalongkorn University

Ms. Natkritta Muaprakhon

Vice President & Administration of Green Youth Thailand

Ms. Pittayaporn Puttasin

Vice President and Content Creator of Green Youth Thailand

Ms. Supitchar Wongyutitham

Chairperson of the Baan Krua Community Savings Group