The International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals(hereinafter referred to as CBAS) established an International Advisory Committee and held its first plenary meeting online on March 2. Professor Gretchen Kalonji, Dean of Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction(IDMR) of Sichuan University – Hong Kong Polytechnic University, presided over the meeting as the first chairman of the Committee.

In order to implement President Xi Jinping’s callat the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly to support the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, China established the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Beijing on Sept 6, 2021. It is the world's first international scientific research institution using big data to facilitate the implementation of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Center will be hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which launched a Big Earth Data Science Engineering Project" (CASEarth) in 2018 to promote the implementation of the SDGs by utilizing big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, space technology, and network communication technology.

The International Advisory Committee is composed of 18 senior experts and scholars from 11 countries such as China, the United States and the United Kingdom. At the invitation of Professor Guo Huadong, director of CBAS and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Gretchen Kalonji was appointed the first chairman of the International Advisory Committee.

Gretchen Kalonji said at the inaugural meeting of International Advisory Committee that the establishment of CBAS is an exciting strategic measure with great potentials. As an international research center, its future development will be inseparable from active international partnerships. In the future, the International Advisory Committee will provide independent overall strategic guidance and suggestions for the activities, organizational structure and operation of CBAS. At the same time, IDMR will vigorously cooperate with CBAS in key fields such as medicine, aerospace science and biodiversity together with the West China School of Medicine and other relevant colleges.