Technological University Dublin
Sustainability Action Lab
Finalist, Benefitting Society
About
Sustainability Action Lab (SAL) at TU Dublin is a university-wide initiative that embeds transformative sustainability learning through co-created, real-world collaborations, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This initiative partners students, academics and societal partners to address SDG challenges identified by societal partners, which can include non-profits, government bodies and industry. In 2025/26 there were 25 SAL projects across all TU Dublin faculties, with undergraduate and post-grad students working with 32 societal partners. Among the range of projects include Geospatial Surveying students creating an SDG mapping tool for a local authority; Chemistry students running soil health promotion activities with an inner city community organisation; Sustainable Timber Technology students collaborating with Mens’ Shed on community structure; Optometry students running an eye clinic within a homeless service; Architecture students designing inclusive care environments with a public hospital; Digital Marketing students designing a behaviour change campaign for a wildlife conservation organisation.
Top 3 learnings
- We learned that collaboration is a skill, a practice and an outcome. It takes time, flexibility, and it can be taught!
- We learned that projects are more likely to succeed when Academic Leads are given the time, freedom and flexibility to design a project in a way that suits their module.
- We learned that the “world” of sustainability is broader than we expected, and already a high priority within most of the industries that students are graduating into, even ones we had not expected.
What it would mean to win
This award would recognise the real and authentic partnership that TU Dublin has with our local communities which benefits all.
SDG
| 2026 | |
| Benefitting Society | |
| Finalist, UK and Ireland |
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