UCD Centre for Sustainable Development

The UCD Centre for Sustainable Development was delighted to host Prof. Emerita Naila Kabeer (LSE) for an insightful session with undergraduate students of DEV20130: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals reviewing the progress of Agenda 2030.

Drawing on decades of research, Prof. Kabeer mapped the progress, setbacks, and contradictions of SDG implementation—challenging us to go beyond surface-level metrics and ask: Who is driving change? Who is being left behind? And what must shift to make Agenda 2030 a reality?

University of Greenwich | Transformative Change for Sustainable Development Seminar Series

How do collective dynamics shape women's entrepreneurial ambitions in microcredit schemes?

Join us for a fascinating seminar with Prof. Supriya, Director of the UCD Centre for Sustainable Development, as she presents her research on how microcredit functions beyond individual agency—highlighting the role of peer influence, social networks, and group resilience in shaping economic and social outcomes for women in rural India.

Drawing on 16 years of longitudinal data, this talk will critically examine whether microfinance fosters true empowerment or reinforces existing inequalities, offering fresh insights into policy and practice.

📅 Friday, 28th February
⏰ 13:00 - 14:30 GMT
💻 Online

We look forward to an engaging discussion with colleagues working on development economics, gender studies, and financial inclusion.

Blessing or curse? Assessing the local impacts of foreign direct investment on conflict in Africa?

Authored by Dr Samuel Brazys, Dr Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati from the UCD Centre for Sustainable Development and Professor Indra de Soysa from the Department of Sociology and Political Science at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the paper explores how FDI impacts local conflict in Africa. The research finds that while FDI in all sectors increases conflict, only investments in the extractive sector (such as mining) escalate into major wars. The study highlights how powerful domestic actors resist FDI when it threatens their control over resources, leading to localized unrest.

Abstract:
"The question of foreign direct investment (FDI) and socio-political development is debated heavily. Liberals believe that FDI brings economic opportunities and/or increased incentives for peace and security among host societies. Critics suggest that FDI is exploitative, leading to conditions that increase the risk of violence. We take a political economy perspective that views FDI as problematic depending on how FDI affects politically powerful local interests. As such, all forms of FDI should meet domestic opposition, but only FDI in the extractive sector, where domestic political actors have little at stake, escalates to major war. Building on recent work which examines this question pertaining to extractive sector FDI, we introduce sub-national, geo-referenced data on FDI in all sectors for evaluating local conflict using combined data from four distinct geo-referenced conflict databases. Using site-period fixed effects with a difference-in-difference like approach, we find that FDI in all sectors increases local conflict. Conflicts induced by most FDI sectors fall short of becoming civil war, except for extractive sector FDI."

Read the full study: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00223433231200928

Traditional urban models failed rural schools, overwhelming teachers and leaving students behind. The Escuela Nueva model (Spanish for "new school") redefined learning with self-paced education, hands-on teacher training, and community involvement.

💡 What can we learn from this? And how should we rethink the United Nations' SDG 4 beyond conventional approaches?

Read at:

We talk about teachers dropping out - what about students? | UCD Centre for Sustainable Development Traditional urban models failed rural schools, overwhelming teachers and leaving students behind. The Escuela Nueva model (spanish for "new school") redefined learning with self-paced education, hands-on teacher training, and community involvement. 💡 What can we learn from this? And how...

It was a privilege to welcome Professor Emerita Naila Kabeer of the The London School of Economics and Political Science - LSE to University College Dublin for her session on "Re-negotiating Patriarchy in a Challenging Environment: Stories of Change from Bangladesh". A packed room and an engaged audience were a testament to the impact of her work.

Through her storytelling, energy, and sharp analysis, Prof. Kabeer challenged top-down narratives of social change, emphasizing the agency of ordinary women in reshaping patriarchal norms. Her research forces us to rethink how development happens—not just through policies, but through negotiation, adaptation, and everyday resistance.

We look forward to more thought-provoking discussions at the UCD Centre for Sustainable Development!

How do individuals and communities challenge deeply entrenched systems of patriarchy? What does it take to spark meaningful change in societies where gender roles are tightly prescribed?

These are the pressing questions at the heart of the upcoming talk with Professor Emerita Naila Kabeer, LSE Department of International Development & LSE International Inequalities Institute. Drawing from her extensive research and fieldwork in Bangladesh, Prof. Kabeer will share stories of resilience, empowerment, and transformation in the face of structural barriers.

📅 Date: Wednesday, 12th February 2025
⏰ Time: 12 - 1 PM
📍 Venue: SPIRe Boardroom, F301, Newman Building, Dublin 4

Link to Register: https://www.eventbrite.hk/e/sustainable-development-in-practice-talk-series-with-dr-naila-kabeer-tickets-1238051799259?aff=oddtdtcreator

Who decides what a ‘community’ is—and who gets left out? How do legal systems shape struggles for land and justice? Why does the legacy of apartheid still determine whose voices are heard in courts and whose claims are dismissed?

These are not just legal questions; they are questions of power, history, and belonging. Sonya Cotton, PhD researcher with the European Research Council's Property[in]Justice Project, has spent months in the archives and in the field, listening to the voices of those fighting for recognition. Drawing from her research in South Africa and Namibia, she will explore how states and developers use legal ambiguity to control land rights—often in ways that disempower the very communities international law claims to protect.

📅 Date: Wednesday, 12th February 2025
⏰ Time: 1 PM
📍 Venue: L106, Harty Boardroom, Sutherland School of Law, Dublin 4

This talk is part of UCD Sutherland School of Law's weekly Faculty Research Seminar Series, bringing together scholars, students, and practitioners to engage with cutting-edge legal research.

Sustainability is a shared responsibility that defines the future we want to build. At the UCD Centre for Sustainable Development, we bring together academics, researchers, and students from diverse fields, who believe in the power of knowledge to create real change.

With University College Dublin ranked as Ireland’s top university for sustainability, we take pride in our role in embedding the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development across education, research, and governance. From pioneering research in climate resilience and energy transition to working with global institutions on policy frameworks, our work is driven by one purpose: to build a better, more sustainable future for everyone.

But sustainability isn’t just something we study—it’s something we live. It’s in the way we teach, the way we research, and the way we engage with the world around us. It is about working together—across disciplines, sectors, and borders—to ensure that sustainability remains at the heart of decision-making, innovation, and progress.