SDSN & Siemens Energy Launch 5th Edition of the "Universities for Goal 13" Competition and Award
Siemens Energy and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network have launched the 5th edition of Universities for Goal 13, building on the success of the last four competitions.
NEW YORK / PARIS (October 23, 2025) — Sponsored by Siemens Energy and in collaboration with the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), “Universities for Goal 13” is an annual competition and award recognizing students’ innovative thinking and critical role in combating climate change and its impacts.
The competition aims to promote practical, innovative approaches to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 on Climate Action, through multi-disciplinary insight and collaboration. It aims to equip university students with the opportunity to lead innovation, particularly addressing the pressing global challenge of the energy transition.
“‘Universities for Goal 13’ is making sure that this innovation process continues in a dynamic way right into the new young engineers and leaders of the coming generation,” said SDSN President Jeffrey Sachs. “Thanks to this competition, students from universities in all parts of the world receive excellent mentorship to work on practical problem solving directed at the challenges we face.”
Driving the Energy Transition
The climate emergency demands immediate action. Countries recognize that we must curb global greenhouse gas emissions and fully decarbonize economies in this century to reach carbon neutrality. The 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs act as a vital roadmap not only for governments and public administrations but also for businesses, universities, civil society, and young people to make net-zero emissions societies a reality.
Significant progress has been made in advancing green technologies, but the global energy transition still faces major obstacles. Making it truly sustainable demands bold technological solutions, smart economic models, robust policy frameworks, and new forms of collaboration.
“Through this team-based competition, we aim to empower students to become architects of the next generation of climate solutions,” said Rocío Millán, Siemens Energy.
About the 5th Edition
The 5th edition of the competition welcomes a wide range of proposals that support the energy transition in practical, impactful ways. It challenges students to tackle some of the most pressing issues in the energy transition by developing creative, cross-disciplinary solutions that can make a real difference.
This year, the participants from SDSN member institutions include: Tsinghua University in China; Case Western Reserve University in the U.S.A., the Bucharest University of Economic Studies in Romania; Deusto University in Spain, University of Hamburg in Germany; the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) in Brazil; University College London in the UK; and Monash University in Australia, winners of the last edition.
On October 23, the SDSN hosted a kick-off meeting to convene representatives from these universities, introduce all participants, and discuss this year’s competition. The event also reviewed the achievements of the previous year’s competition and introduced improvements for this edition. Once again, all student teams will utilize the SDG Impact Assessment Tool to evaluate the impacts of their projects on the SDGs.
Key Incentives
During the competition and development of the projects, students receive mentorship from top professionals at Siemens Energy and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, and have the chance to win a $10,000 USD prize for their solution, as well as a trip to New York to present their solution during a high-level SDSN event.
Teams benefit from mentorship given by experts in engineering, finance, compliance, or project management, thus helping students refine their proposals from technological, legal, spatial, and social perspectives. Additionally, participants will receive support from university staff in designing and developing their projects, enhancing their professional development through expanded knowledge, building a network, and gaining practical experience and visibility.
The competition will begin in October 2025 and conclude in September 2026, culminating in an awards ceremony in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Students can now access the 5th edition Competition Brief and the Rules & Guidelines.
For more information on past editions, please visit the Universities for Goal 13 page.