Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation co-hosts groundbreaking global sustainability event 

Times Higher Education’s Global Sustainable Development Congress 2024 will be held in partnership with Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation from 10-13 June in Bangkok, Thailand.
March 20, 2024
Global Sustainable Development Congress 2024

A groundbreaking sustainability event – Times Higher Education’s (THE) Global Sustainable Development Congress 2024 (GSDC), which takes place from 10-13 June in Bangkok, Thailand, will be held in partnership with Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation.  

The 3,000-person attended event at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok brings together leaders and innovators from universities, governments, business and society to develop urgent solutions to the sustainability emergency. The summit will provide calls to action for universities to pivot their educational, research, innovation and outreach programmes towards delivering the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and join forces with businesses, governments and charities to deliver results. 

More than 350 speakers will be sharing their expert insights on sustainable development with the following speakers already confirmed:  

  • Pornphrom Vikitsreth, adviser to governor of Bangkok and chief sustainability officer of Bangkok, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration  
  • Nadjme Yusuf, head of sustainability, Petronas Dagangan  
  • Nik Nazmi bin Nik Ahmad, minister of natural resources and environmental sustainability, government of Malaysia  
  • Senida Mesi, former deputy prime minister of the Republic of Albania, economist & member of Albanian parliament  
  • Hsien-Hsien Lei, chief executive officer, AmCham Singapore  
  • Pariphan Uthawaiya, managing director, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet 

Key featured events within the congress include the global sustainability leaders' summit, international green skills summit and THE’s DataLabs, which empowers sustainability in higher education through data, expert analysis and global best practice. 

In addition, THE’s Impact Rankings 2024, will be announced at the event, which is the world’s only ranking that assess universities against the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

The GSDC provides a chance to listen to, and meet, global experts, thought leaders and policy makers on sustainable development with more than 15 hours of networking and cross-sector collaboration built into the agenda. Attendees will gain access to case studies, hear about best practices, learn about successful models and innovative strategies, with impactful projects being showcased. 

The four-day event will focus on six themes:   

  1. Education, gender and inequality  
  2. Health, well-being and demography
  3. Energy decarbonisation and sustainable industry
  4. Sustainable food, land, water and oceans
  5. Sustainable cities and communities
  6. Digital revolution for sustainable development   

The event will highlight initiatives to drive societal change through education, research and innovation and attendees will hear about the best sustainable integration strategies.  

Phil Baty, THE’s chief global affairs officer, said: “Thailand is a world-leading nation for unleashing the power of its universities to help the planet, and the country, deliver the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.  

“It’s wonderful we are partnering with Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation to host the Global Sustainable Development Congress. The event unites governments, businesses and civic society with universities to drive real change and it could not be more appropriate that we’ll have Thailand as a living, live case study of good practice.” 

Early bird tickets are available now for delegates representing a university, association, public sector or NGO until Friday 26 April for US$495. Early bird tickets for delegates representing a corporate organisation are available until Friday 26 April and cost US$599. A 25% discount is available to readers of this piece by entering the code: GSDC-PR. Book them here.