The Blum Center for Developing Economies leverages the talent, enthusiasm, and energy of the University of California, Berkeley community to address complex societal challenges, particularly global poverty. The center’s interdisciplinary problem-solving approach draws on students and faculty dedicated to facing challenges through innovative initiatives, education, and research. The Blum Center is home to the Development Engineering PhD program, the undergraduate Global Poverty & Practice program, and the Big Ideas Contest, the University of California’s social entrepreneurship catalyst. The center is led by award-winning faculty from schools and departments across campus.
One of the biggest drivers of the Blum Center is serving as a university catalyst to help meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The “SDGs” are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for the year 2030. The goals are broad based and interdependent, and each have a list of targets that are measured with indicators.
