Students Make Change with Millennium Fellowship

A cohort of 21 NYU Shanghai students were awarded a Millennium Fellowship from The United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) and Millennium Campus Network (MCN) to encourage students to take leadership on social change initiatives. The fellows are among a roster of 4000 students on more than 290 campuses in 47 countries selected for the fellowship, just a small percentage of more than 60,000 students who applied.

Throughout the four-month long Millennium Fellowship program, fellows undertake individually designed projects addressing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and applying what they learn to create real change.

NYU Shanghai Millennium Fellowship campus leaders Li Xiaojue ’28, a Data Science major, and Kamran Karic ’28, a Biology major, were selected to provide organizational support for this year’s cohort and run workshops. “The Millennium Fellows this year share a strong desire to create meaningful change,” said Kamran.  “Each of their projects aims to make a positive impact — not just for themselves, but for their communities and, ultimately, the world. They’re all driven by purpose, hope, and a commitment to leaving a lasting mark through their work.”

At a mid-September meeting, the fellows gathered to share their projects on themes ranging from mobile libraries, women’s health initiatives, and AI equity. Just after Fall Break, they met again, this time with English for Academic Purposes Senior Lecturer Katherine Tosi, who each year teaches a course on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and this year will advise the fellows. 

The fellowship allows students to bridge classroom learning with global leadership, said Tosi. “Fellows sharpen leadership, collaboration, and project management skills while actively contributing to a more sustainable and equitable future,” she said. “I’m proud to support our Millennium Fellows as they take their sustainability projects from concept to global impact.”

Global Awards Director Anna Kendrick congratulated the fellows. “NYU Shanghai’s active, engaged student body has again shown its commitment to local and global involvement. This program gives fellows the tools and support to begin testing out their ideas, learning from practitioners and making small, incremental contributions to their communities,” she said. 

With NYU Shanghai one of the leading Millennium campuses in China, Kendrick was recently invited to serve on the inaugural Civic Learning Council, an advisory board of a dozen faculty and staff charged with providing guidance on the fellowship’s direction and coordinating with global partners.

This is the third year that a cohort of NYU Shanghai students have been selected for the fellowship. Last year, more than 20 NYU Shanghai students were named Millennium Fellows.

One of NYU Shanghai’s Millennium fellows was also one of only 12 students worldwide selected for the Coach Dream It Real x Coachtopia Scholarship. The scholarship, a collaboration between Coach Foundation, Coachtopia, and the Millennium Campus Network (MCN), is an initiative designed to empower undergraduate student leaders from historically underrepresented communities who are committed to advancing sustainability and circularity, particularly within the fashion industry.

Gabriel Fernandes Mello Ferreira ’28, an Electrical and Systems Engineering major, won the scholarship with his project, Rio 40° C: Inequality Under the Sun, on viable solutions for communities affected by urban heat island in his home country of Brazil. As part of the scholarship, he will be paired with an industry mentor who will support him as he develops his project. 

See the list of this year’s NYU Shanghai Millennium Fellows and their projects.