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Ahead of the 2025 symposium on gender equity and its intersection with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), jointly organised by the University of Tokyo and P站视频, a conversation between the president of the University of Tokyo and the Editor-in-Chief of Nature highlights ways that we can collectively lift our game when it comes to the SDGs. 

The 2024 report card is in for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and it鈥檚 not looking good. 鈥淭he Goals are not going to be met,鈥� said Magdalena Skipper, Editor-in-Chief of Nature. 鈥淎ccording to this year鈥檚 progress report, only 17% of the targets will be met.鈥� The consequences of not making the grade are much more serious than repeating a year at school 鈥� the future of the planet is at stake.

It was against this sobering backdrop that Skipper met with Teruo Fujii, President of the University of Tokyo, in October 2024 to discuss what the research community can do to remedy this serious situation. In their conversation, Skipper and Fujii explored the need for an interdisciplinary approach and integrating diverse scientific domains and societal perspectives to tackle global, complex issues targeted by the SDGs such as climate change, biodiversity, and social equity.  

鈥淲e really need to grapple with how we can address interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary issues from an academic viewpoint.鈥�
Teruo Fujii, President, University of Tokyo

Going beyond disciplinary boundaries for interconnected challenges

Fujii believes there are several ways universities can help realise the Goals. The obvious one is through doing research that directly touches on one of the Goals. But he also noted the importance of promoting research that goes beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries and at the same time engages closely with stakeholders outside academia. 

As an editor of a multidisciplinary journal, Skipper couldn鈥檛 agree more. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e seeing a renaissance of multidisciplinary journals because some of the most complex questions require complex solutions,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 through disciplinarians coming together around a common problem that we stand our best chance of solving it.鈥� 

But she added that publishing interdisciplinary research comes with its challenges. 鈥淭here are often communication issues because each discipline has its own language,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have to think extra hard how to peer review multidisciplinary papers 鈥� it requires real skill of the editors and careful oversight and judicious choice of reviewers, not to mention careful interpretation of referees鈥� comments.鈥� 

Fujii specified three concrete ways the University of Tokyo is promoting interdisciplinary research. One is to explore research questions from multiple perspectives within the university. He cited an interesting example of past major earthquakes in Japan. 

鈥淏ig earthquakes and volcanic activities leave signatures in the geological record, but at the same time we have historical materials for them going back about a thousand years,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd so, by combining these two very different streams of knowledge that have insights from the natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, and humanities, we can get a better picture of what actually happened in an earthquake say 600 years ago.鈥� 

A second way is to promote collaboration with industry. 鈥淣owadays, companies are looking at societal issues with their own business philosophy and perspective,鈥� Fujii said. 鈥淎nd so holistic collaboration with the industry naturally involves bringing in different kinds of expertise.鈥� 

Finally, Fujii specified collaboration with overseas institutions as the third plank in promoting interdisciplinary research at his university. Citing the example of microtechnology, he noted that it involves a diverse range of disciplines, including physics, chemistry, biology, and even nanotech. And so input is needed from experts around the world, not just across the corridor. 

Partnering for sustainable development: Involving community

Another way Fujii noted that universities can make a real difference is by involving the wider community in research and sharing the benefits with them.

鈥淪DG 17 鈥� Partnership for the Goals 鈥� is probably the most important SDG of them all. Because without partnership, none of the others can be achieved.鈥�
Magdalena Skipper, Editor-in-Chief, Nature

Again, Skipper was in whole-hearted agreement. She gave a beautiful example of community involvement in research by a microbiologist who was studying the gut microbiome of a tribe in Tanzania. 鈥淥ne day after a session with the local community, she was sitting together with some people from that community and one of them said, 鈥業鈥檓 really tired of giving parts of my body away.鈥� She was so struck by this, because it meant that their heart was not engaging with her research,鈥� said Skipper. 鈥淪o she asked them, 鈥榃hat would make sense to you? How would you use the tools I have at my disposal?鈥欌�� It turned out that that community was particularly preoccupied with maternal and child health. 鈥淪o she completely changed the direction of her study and now she uses microbiome data and microbiome tools to try to improve maternal and child health,鈥� said Skipper. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 a true collaboration because she鈥檚 helping the community and doing something with the community that the community really cares about.鈥�

The need to come together and combine forces to tackle these issues is actually enshrined in the SDGs, Skipper pointed out. 

鈥淲hen I first looked over the SDGs, I was a bit puzzled by SDG 17, which is Partnership for the Goals,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淢y first reaction was that it seemed like the odd one out 鈥� each of the other Goals has a specific focus. But when I started thinking about it, I realised that it鈥檚 probably the most important SDG of them all. Because without partnership, none of the others can be achieved.鈥� 

Thus, the key to improving our collective performance on the SDGs is to fully embrace SDG 17 and collaborate on a wide range of levels. That is something that both universities and publishers have vital roles to play in. 

Gender equity and the SDGs: A joint symposium from the University of Tokyo and P站视频

Fujii and Skipper also discussed diversity, especially gender equity and its importance for research and in research publishing. Equity, sustainability, wellbeing, and their intersection with the SDGs will be the focus of the upcoming joint SDGs Symposium on 8 February 2025, organised by the University of Tokyo and P站视频 as part of their longstanding collaboration. 

The conversation between Drs. Teruo Fujii and Magdalena Skipper was held in preparation of the 2025 Symposium on gender equity and its intersection with the SDGs, within series, which brings together two guests to discuss a topic and share perspectives. Watch this space for the recording, which will be available in January. 

Learn more about SDG 17 and its important role in supporting sustainable development. Explore news and insights, publications and events, all about SDG 17 and collaboration for the SDGs.

Teruo Fujii is the 31st President of the University of Tokyo. Prior to taking the President鈥檚 office in April 2021, he was Executive Vice President in charge of finance and external relations for the university. He also served as the Director General of the Institute of Industrial Sciences (IIS) of the university from 2015 to 2018. He received his Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1993 and held research positions at IIS and RIKEN prior to becoming a professor of IIS in 2007. 

Dr. Fujii was an advisor to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) from 2005 to 2007, co-director of LIMMS-CNRS/IIS, a joint research laboratory between CNRS of France, and IIS, from 2007 to 2014, and the President of the Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society (CBMS) from 2017 to 2019. From March 2021 to February 2024, he held the position of an Executive Member (part-time) of the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. Since 2019, he has served as the Chair of the Subdivision on Ocean Development of the Council for Science and Technology (MEXT). Dr. Fujii鈥檚 research specialises in applied microfluidics systems and underwater technology. 

Magdalena Skipper is Editor-in-Chief of 鈥疦ature鈥痑nd Chief Editorial Advisor for the Nature Portfolio. She has considerable editorial and publishing experience, having worked as Chief Editor of鈥疦ature Reviews Genetics, Senior Editor for genetics and genomics at鈥疦ature, and Editor in Chief of鈥疦ature Communications. She is passionate about mentorship, research integrity, as well as collaboration and inclusion in research. As part of her desire to promote underrepresented groups in research, in 2018 she co-launched the Nature Research Inspiring Science Award for women early career researchers. She holds a PhD in genetics from University of Cambridge, UK.