Sustainable Development Goals Project for Veterinary Science

The University of Pretoria (UP) released its first report on the contributions that UP is making toward the attainment of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in December 2021. In this report, Prof Kupe acknowledges that sustainability-related reporting in higher education is an emerging space. With this in mind, the Jotello F. Soga Library decided they have a responsibility and an opportunity to communicate and advocate for the UN SDGs in the veterinary community. As an academic library serving a subject-specific group, it was felt that every faculty staff member and student should have the opportunity to learn about the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and to showcase their quality research, related to these goals to society, via the library’s open access platform. The Library can achieve this goal by using the UPSpace repository and LibGuides to bring attention to the SDGs.

The library created the Veterinary Science SDG LibGuide that is the main “host” which links all the relevant open access articles, theses and activities submitted to UPSpace together, for a specific SDG. By accessing the links for each SDG on the LibGuide, the user retrieves lists in UPSpace with open access resources relevant to the specific SDG. Unique tags in the metadata records of the articles, theses and activities in the UPSpace repository make it possible to group the items together according to the different Sustainable Development Goals. The SDG LibGuide provides an easy overview of research done, as well as activities related to the SDGs, at the Faculty of Veterinary Science.

The SDG LibGuide is also a knowledge portal for veterinary science researchers and students conducting research by providing them with links to appropriate SDG information resources, nationally and internationally. Links to selected courses, podcasts, apps and resources related to the SDGs will bring attention to the importance of this initiative and promote those SDGs that veterinary science researchers can align themselves with.  Lists of books on SDGs from the library, in print as well as in full-text electronic format, give users the opportunity to broaden their knowledge of sustainable development.

Dr Rakeshnie Ramoutar-Prieschl (Head of Research Capacity Development at UP) will participate in a UN Global Online event in May 2022. She will incorporate information on our project as part of her presentation. Through this project, the Jotello F Soga Library can make an important contribution to the achievement of the SDGs concerning veterinary science. To be successful we need to become champions in linking the research data of our Faculty to sustainable development and play a role in the awareness of the SDGs among our users.