Asian universities lead on frontier technologies for SDGs

A quiet revolution is taking place in the Asia-Pacific region, where universities in partnership with government agencies and civil society groups are taking a lead in innovating sustainability technologies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

At the 13th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) that took place in Bangkok under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) from 24 to 27 February, Asian universities, particularly from China, were very active in the so-called ‘side events’ that took place on the same floors as the official intergovernmental sessions of the Forum, showcasing and discussing technology-driven solutions for the SDGs.

This was most dominant in a session titled “Innovating Sustainability: Universities and Frontier Technologies for the SDGs”, organised by China’s Tsinghua University in collaboration with the Asian Universities Alliance (AUA) Secretariat.

The invitation sent out to delegates said: “Science, technology and innovation have emerged as critical pathways for translating sustainable development commitments into concrete outcomes.

“Universities across the Asia-Pacific region play a particularly important role in this process, serving as hubs for knowledge creation, technological innovation, and talent development.

“Within this ecosystem, young researchers bring fresh perspectives, digital fluency, and a strong sense of social responsibility, positioning them as key drivers of transformative and inclusive solutions.”

Importance of AI-driven technologies

The session showcased Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven technologies from China in particular that would help achieve the SDGs by basically leapfrogging the technological gap in the region. But sceptics on the panel warned against completely depending on these technologies.

In an opening speech to the session, ESCAP’s executive secretary, Indonesian economics professor Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana said: “This is not something distant, not something out of reach, but an application or the innovation being done in the university immediately being translated to something that the general public actually can access and can potentially utilise for a certain task or certain function.”

Invoking the Year of the Horse, Vice-Chancellor of the Tsinghua University Council, Professor Buo Yong, said that the horse symbolises speed, vitality and hope, and “today’s global governance is precisely this spirit of the horse”. AI technology will provide the speed to advance the 2030 agenda, he said.

“Science and technology are powerful tools for addressing development challenges, and many frontier solutions have emerged, like the robots,” he said. “Technological advancement depends on outstanding innovators, and universities are central to nurturing such talent,” he added.

While Tsinghua University’s booth outside had a demonstration model of a robot they have developed, Yong gave other examples of Tsinghua’s new technology, such as their electronic engineering department’s portable radiation-free smart imaging system for lung screening, “bringing high-quality diagnostics to remote areas”, and their Carbon Neutrality and Energy System Transformation programme, bringing together research institutions, enterprises, and international organisations “to advance carbon neutrality through cross-sector collaboration”.

AUA is a grouping of 16 leading Asian universities, and there were presentations from member universities from Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and Kazakhstan taking part in the event’s two panels.

Significance of scaling up technologies

Professor Pisut Painmanakul, the associate dean of the Sustainability and Social Engagement Program at Chulalongkorn University, introduced their water resilience centres they have recently established with local governments along waterways in Bangkok and nearby areas as a “path to climate change adaptation”.

These focus on shifting from “fighting water” to “living with water” and mitigating flood risks through scientific data, nature-based solutions, and urban planning.

Associate Professor Yoonmo Koo, from Seoul National University, argued that “frontier technologies only become the real-world solution if they can scale up”.

He noted that private companies are reluctant to invest in lab research that needs to scale up and will take time to make profits. “So that’s why public enterprises can play a critical role here. They are not driven only by profit. With government support they can serve as a real-world testbed for innovative technologies,” he stated.

“It often makes sense to scale technologies internationally, especially in developing countries, where there may be larger mitigation opportunities,” argued Koo, pointing to a Korean international cooperation project in Cambodia.

A Korean company, Verywords, began deploying electric scooters there, which comes under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement aiming to reduce carbon emissions in the transport system. “They are building a business ecosystem that can deliver affordable and low-carbon e-products,” said the professor.

Professor Rezi Riadhi Syahdi, of the Department of Pharmacy, Universitas Indonesia, gave an example of how AI technology is used for collecting phytochemical data of medicinal plants in Indonesia. “It is a very complex interaction between compounds (in medicinal plants),” explained Syahdi.

“We address these challenges by integrating AI and machine learning with large-scale phytochemical data integrations. The platforms (we create) can see the most benefits or have the most compounds for that particular medicinal plant.” Application of AI here, argued the professor, helps the Ministry of Health to choose the best plants for use in the national health schemes.

Engaging social science to counter AI scepticism

However, engineering Professor Maria Tsakalerou from Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan, expressed some scepticism. “AI is powerful, AI is efficient, AI is faster, but AI is not magic,” she noted.

“It is amazingly good at finding the centre of what already exists. SDGs are not going to optimise what already exists. They are good at building a part that does not exist.”

“While AI helps us generate more ideas, it also leads to fewer ideas, and less exploring. In other words, we might lead to more quick ideas, but not necessarily new ones, not necessarily better ones, and definitely not the radical ones,” added Tsakalerou.

Speaking towards the end of the session, Michael Williamson, chief of the energy division of ESCAP, noted that we are at a transformational era where we are moving from a fossil fuel-based energy system to a renewable energy-based system. “That really means an innovation-led revolution. And this is why frontier technologies are so important,” he said.

But Williamson warned that if we do not bring social science into the picture, humanity could suffer from insecurity. “What we’re trying to do is enact changes that many people don’t feel comfortable with and don’t understand. We need to engage social science in terms of understanding better behavioural science and cultural issues,” he argued.

“I’m very glad to know that Tsinghua actually has a centre that looks at this. It’s called the Center for Risk Management and Environmental Communication,” he noted.