IVECA Student-led Global Exchange Academy (iSGEA): Youth Collaboration for Sustainable Cities
- IVECA Center
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
When young people from different communities come together with curiosity, purpose, and a shared vision for a better future, meaningful change begins. The IVECA Student-led Global Exchange Academy (iSGEA) created a unique space for students from high schools across Incheon Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea, and Shenzhen, China, to connect beyond borders and learn from one another through the shared language of global citizenship and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More than an international learning experience, the program was an opportunity for students to exchange ideas, discover new perspectives, and see how their voices and actions can help build a more sustainable and inclusive world. Throughout the program, students explored pressing local challenges, conducted research, and collaborated with their peers and mentors to develop innovative and practical solutions for more sustainable communities.
As part of the program, Korean students participated in both in-person and online collaborative sessions, working closely with Youth Mentors from New York University and high school partners from Shenzhen to strengthen their research and transform their ideas into feasible, human-centered AI projects. Students engaged in weekly sessions where they shared lessons learned, exchanged feedback on the IVECA platform, and continuously refined their projects.
The iSGEA provided students with a series of expert lectures and personalized guidance throughout the program, with mentors working closely with each project group. Supported by experienced youth mentors, students took the lead in refining their problem statements, analyzed multi-stakeholder perspectives, and developed action plans that addressed real community needs. Through the purposeful use of AI as a problem-solving tool, students advanced their initial concepts into practical, human-centered solutions while fostering critical thinking, teamwork, leadership, global citizenship, and applicable solutions for building more sustainable communities.
The program culminated in a virtual Live Class on June 20, where students presented four outstanding projects showcasing their creativity, innovation, and commitment to sustainable cities. The Korean teams proposed an AI-powered chatbot and website to support youth entrepreneurship and revitalize Incheon's downtown area, as well as a child-friendly redesign of public parks to create safer and more inclusive green spaces. Meanwhile, the Chinese teams introduced an AI-based water quality monitoring system to improve environmental protection and a sustainable resource circulation system designed to recover waste heat from AI data centers, reducing energy consumption and environmental impact. Together, these projects demonstrated how young people can combine innovative thinking and artificial intelligence to design feasible solutions with lasting local and global impact.
During the Live Class, Korean and Chinese students and youth mentors actively engaged, sharing their solutions for sustainable cities. One of the Korean Students expressed, “To implement and apply our solution to reality, government solutions and advocacy should be supportive of the solution’s sustainability.” Also, Chinese students expressed that AI has developed rapidly nowadays, and it’s essential to create more diverse and contextualized AI by considering local matters. The Youth mentors shared their impression of the innovative works and solutions developed by students. One mentor reflected, "It was inspiring to see each team take a real problem in their own community and turn it into a thoughtful, workable solution." Another added, "What stood out most was how much the students grew as researchers and as collaborators, learning from peers across different cultures."
Building on the research and solutions they have developed throughout the program, participating students had the opportunity to showcase their projects on the global stage during IVECA's 2026 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) Side Event at the United Nations Headquarters on July 10, 2026. By presenting their ideas to an international audience, students demonstrated the power of youth-led innovation and cross-cultural collaboration in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and the potential to become thoughtful leaders and active contributors who can shape the future they will inherit.
