Interview with theme convenors of one of seven UKFIET 2025 conference themes, ‘Sustainable Development Goals’: Rona Bronwin, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and Najme Kishani, PAL Network. The Call for Abstracts is open until 21 March 2025.

Education at the heart of sustainable development: Why submit to the SDGs sub-theme at UKFIET 2025?

With just five years left to 2030, the world is at a critical juncture for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Education is both an end goal in itself (SDG 4) and a key driver of all other SDGs, including poverty reduction, gender equality, climate action and peacebuilding. Yet, progress remains uneven, and many targets risk being missed. As the world grapples with global crises—growing inequalities, climate emergencies, and shifting political landscapes—the role of education in sustainable development has never been more urgent.

This is why the 2025 UKFIET conference theme of ‘The Sustainable Development Goals’ offers a vital space to reflect, challenge, and rethink how to accelerate progress towards achieving SDG 4 and how education can accelerate progress across the SDG agenda. We invite bold, innovative, and solutions-driven contributions that not only assess achievements and challenges but also push the conversation forward with actionable insights.

Why this sub-theme?

The SDGs have been a guiding framework for global development efforts, but we are now in a period of reckoning. Are we measuring the right things and in the right way? What does quality education for sustainable development look like? How do we ensure that learning is truly transformative—equipping individuals, communities, and societies to meet today’s challenges and shape the post-2030 agenda?

This sub-theme explores education’s role in the entire SDG framework. While other sub-themes examine partnerships, inclusion, climate, and systemic change, this track invites us to take stock of the overall ambition of progress on global education and connects the dots—offering a space to interrogate how education advances the broader global goals and what needs to change to make its impact more effective. Particularly, this sub-theme focuses on SDG 4 indicators, highlighting access to quality education and learning for all children.

How does this connect to the global landscape and UKFIET 2025?

The theme of this year’s UKFIET conference, Mobilising knowledge, partnerships, and innovations for sustainable development through education and training, is a call to action. As the SDGs reach their final stretch, knowledge generation and mobilisation are crucial. There is not enough data to track SDG 4 indicators, especially SDG 4.1.1. More data is needed and quickly. Can innovation and partnerships help accelerate this?

However, we cannot assume that more data or more discussions will automatically lead to impact. This sub-theme challenges us to think critically about how education systems, policies, and research communities can move beyond rhetoric and deliver real, measurable change.

In an era of geopolitical uncertainty, climate-driven displacement, and rapid technological advancements, we need to rethink how education intersects with global development. This track is a space for those leading technical innovation as well as those engaged in big-picture thinking, questioning power structures, governance mechanisms, and the politics of knowledge in the SDG process.

What kind of submissions are we looking for?

We welcome papers and sessions that:

  • Push boundaries – We encourage fresh perspectives on education’s role in achieving the SDGs, including critical and policy relevant takes on measurement, financing, and governance.
  • Bridge sectors – We want to hear from researchers and practitioners who connect education to health, climate, economic inclusion, and governance.
  • Offer evidence for action – Beyond documenting progress or challenges, we want sessions that demonstrate innovation and what works, providing insights that can inform policy and practice.
  • Interrogate the “so what” – Many discussions on SDGs revolve around data and frameworks. We challenge contributors to ask, What does this mean for real-world impact? Who benefits? What needs to change?

Some key questions we would love to see explored:

  • What will it take to accelerate progress on SDG 4 and education’s contribution to other SDGs in the next five years?
  • How can governments and institutions be held accountable for achieving their SDG targets?
  • What can education learn from other sectors in making progress on global development goals?
  • How do we balance the political realities of SDG reporting with the need for transparent and meaningful data?
  • What role should education play in shaping the post-2030 global development agenda?

If you are passionate about education’s role in sustainable development and want to be part of shaping the global conversation, this is the sub-theme for you!

We look forward to seeing your ideas, debates, and innovations at UKFIET 2025. Submit your abstract and join us in tackling some of the most pressing questions of our time.