Sustainable Development Goals Engineering

This academic workshop aims to provide a practical and in-depth understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a global operational system that governs urban planning, infrastructure design, and the financing of reconstruction projects—not merely as development slogans.

The workshop focuses on the Syrian urban context and explores how architects and civil engineers can shift from being technical implementers to development actors who directly contribute to improving quality of life, resource efficiency, and the climate resilience of cities.

Through a critical and systemic educational approach, the workshop connects theory with practice and helps participants to:

• Understand the historical and intellectual background of the sustainable development agenda

• Read SDG indicators as tools for measuring urban performance

• Integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into urban design and infrastructure

• Align graduation projects with reconstruction requirements and international funding

• Develop a long-term vision for fair and sustainable urban planning

The workshop is divided into interconnected themes including: repositioning the role of the engineer, the evolution of the global development agenda, SDGs as an urban system, engineering as a development implementation tool, the Syrian urban context, and transforming graduation projects into practical development interventions.

Target Audience:
Architecture and civil engineering students and graduates, and those interested in urban planning, reconstruction, and sustainable development.

Course Instructor:
Engineer Mohammad Saleh:

Founder of the Syrian Geo-Urban Observatory.

Holds a Master’s degree in Urban Engineering and Sustainable Urban Development from the University of Damascus, in academic partnership with Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée in France, ranked first in the 2025 graduating class.

Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Damascus.

Member of the Syrian Initiative for the Environment.

Researcher and professional practitioner in the fields of urban planning, sustainability, and monitoring urban, environmental, and climate transformations using remote sensing technologies, geographic information systems, and spatial analysis.