Surrey welcomes United Nations delegation in formal launch of student-focused ‘CIFAL Surrey Academy’

CIFAL Surrey will host senior UNITAR leadership at the University of Surrey on 11 December 2025, formally launching the new academy. The delegation, led by UNITAR Executive Director Michelle Gyles-McDonnough and including CIFAL directors from Australia, Canada and Saudi Arabia, will see Surrey's work and outreach over the past year – including with external partners – before the launch event. The visit follows the annual CIFAL Global Network meeting in London.

Surrey's new academy sits within CIFAL Surrey, the University's international training centre for authorities and leaders. It will offer undergraduates and postgraduates structured routes into sustainability work, including on-demand training modules, summer schools, local volunteering, international exchanges and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) projects with other CIFAL centres worldwide.

Students earn points for each activity. Those who complete 100 points over their degree receive the UNITAR gold certificate of completion, a credential they can carry into their careers.

It's a huge honour to have the opportunity to welcome our UNITAR colleagues – with whom we've worked so intensively this past year – and to introduce them to both our university community and the wider Surrey family of sustainability stakeholders. As an international training centre, offering UNITAR certification, it's important that CIFAL Surrey is seen as an exciting new stakeholder in tackling the very real sustainability challenges that now confront us. Professor Amelia Hadfield, Director, CIFAL Surrey. Co-Director of the Institute for Sustainability. Associate Vice-President for External Engagement. Founding Director, Centre for Britain and Europe.

Research dissertations aligned with UNITAR priority themes will also count towards the programme. Activities range from introductory Discover Sustainability modules to Sustainability Futures Awards and placements with organisations delivering environmental and social change.

The Academy is about turning global challenges into hands-on learning. It gives students practical routes into international development and strengthens Surrey's role within UNITAR's global training network. Students will not only study the world's biggest challenges. They will help shape the solutions. Dr Roberta Discetti, Lecturer in Business Ethics and Sustainability

Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Jarvis will welcome the UNITAR delegation alongside representatives from national, regional and local government and business. The 11 December event, running from 4–6pm, will showcase CIFAL Surrey's first full year of operations before the formal academy launch.

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Notes to editors

UNITAR: The United Nations Institute for Training and Research was established in 1963 to develop the capacities of individuals, organisations and countries. It provides training, research and knowledge-sharing initiatives to support effective engagement in global governance and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

CIFAL: CIFAL is a French acronym for International Training Centres for Local Authorities and Local Actors (Centre International de Formation des Autorités/Acteurs). CIFAL centres operate as regional hubs within UNITAR's global training network, creating spaces where public officials, academics and community leaders collaborate on local priorities through practical learning.

*CIFAL Surrey: Part of UNITAR's global network, CIFAL Surrey delivers programmes focused on sustainable development, policy and practice. It works with international partners and local communities to translate global goals into action. The CIFAL Global Network consists of 35 centres across every world region and reached more than 97,000 beneficiaries last year.