The world’s inaugural Sustainability and Development Conference (SDC) was held on November, 9 -11 2018 in Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, United States (US). Although the selection process for research presented at the SDC was extremely competitive (2200 abstracts submitted), we are proud to say that the abstracts of two of our postgraduate students in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development were selected to participate in the SDC; Harad Lungu (MSc) and Olayinka Adegbite (PhD).

Harad was encouraged by his supervisor, Dr Selma Karuaihe to submit an abstract on “Climate Smart Agriculture technology adoption: An assessment of young farmer’s technology adoption in the Northern Province of Zambia”. Olayinka worked with her supervisor, Prof. Charles Machethe to submit an abstract titled “Bridging the Financial Inclusion Gender Gap in Smallholder Agriculture and Nigeria: An Untapped Potential for Sustainable Development”.

The conference brought together about 600 diverse and interdisciplinary participants from 58 countries. The aim was to share their research work, network and to engage with the best approaches to implement the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), assess progress towards them and plan for future activities. The conference had 13 SDG-based themes, divided into 115 general sessions, 11 plenary sessions and 22 poster sessions.

Professor Bina Agarwal of the University of Manchester opened the conference with a plenary panel on “careers and opportunities in sustainable development”, which was very beneficial to students. He also presented a keynote address on “Gender inequality and food security: How far can SDG 5 take us?” which gave Olanyika more insights on gender inequality in the context of SDGs, given the closer link with her PhD thesis topic. Olayinka, supported and mentored by Prof Charles Machethe and Dr Moraka Makhura, said “Participating in the SDC as a UP postgraduate student with renowned world’s experts to address global issues, having the opportunity to share my research, receiving feedback and networking was an eye-opener for me and motivated me to fly higher to achieve my dreams”.

Harad worked with his supervisors, Dr Selma Karuaihe and Dr Damien Jourdain to finalise the paper for the conference, which enabled him to complete his MSc thesis on time. “I was fortunate to be supervised by two dedicated lecturers who always had time and interest in my work; this alone served as a catalyst to ensure I performed to their expectations. Participating at the conference exposed me to contemporary knowledge in my field of specialization, and the networking opportunity brought a lot of insight on my research and indeed energy to aspire to pursue a PhD once the masters program is complete”.

Both students agreed that meeting some of the participants who were regarded authorities in their fields, including the editors of six top journals (World Development, Landscape and Urban Planning, Food Policy, Ecological Economics, World Development Perspectives, and Ecology and Society) meant a lot in terms of getting advice on opportunities for publications. They also benefited from tool-based workshops to enhance their understanding of sustainable development and related issues. The conference concluded with a panel on “Realizing Sustainability and Development: Knowledge, Collaborations, and Power. The students are very grateful to their former HoD, Prof. Charles Machethe, for the financial support they received to attend the SDC.