A Special Visit

Australian Prime Minister Rudd

The Honourable Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia, visited Carnegie Mellon University's Pittsburgh campus Sept. 24 to give a special keynote address.

The Prime Minister made a special effort to include a visit to Carnegie Mellon before attending the G-20 Summit with President Obama and the other world leaders.

Speaking on the eve of the summit, Rudd credited Andrew Carnegie's steel industry with first putting Pittsburgh in the world spotlight and credited Carnegie's university — Carnegie Mellon — with helping transform Pittsburgh into the powerhouse it is today.

He addressed the urgent need for world leaders to address environmental issues on a global scale, including calling for carbon markets and putting a price on carbon. He also addressed the benefits of focusing on the issue for low- and high-tech industries.

"I've just seen your robotics lab and some of the cutting-edge research that's going on and some of the potential applications to climate change and some of the potential applications to reducing greenhouse gases," said Rudd, acknowledging Carnegie Mellon's role in driving technological solutions to the issue of climate change.

He concluded by urging the diverse audience to work toward solutions from each discipline, not simply a technological solution.

"I would like to put a challenge before all of you — we need you all to devote your talents to solve climate change," he said.

Watch the address on Carnegie Mellon's YouTube channel. Download the address at Carnegie Mellon on iTunes U.

The event built on the university's global identity. In May 2006, Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College began operations at a new location in Adelaide, Australia, which serves as the college's Asia Pacific education base.

The prime minister's presentation was followed by a panel of experts leading an informal discussion on the world economy, international policy, innovation, the arts and the Pittsburgh region's transformation. (Watch on YouTube. | Download on iTunes U.)

Carnegie Mellon's G-20 partners for this event included the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, the Pittsburgh Technology Council, and the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, as well as Carnegie Mellon's Economics Society, College of Engineering, Heinz College and the International Relations and Politics Program.

At a Sept. 23 conference titled "Renewing Globalization in a Post-Crisis World: The Future of the G20 Agenda", the Carnegie Mellon campus community joined top minds from government, business, policy and education to take a dynamic, unique look at the intersection of economic and social forces that will shape the post-economic crisis world.

The day-long conference was co-hosted by Carnegie Mellon University and the Atlantic Council of the United States, with support by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A recently released report features essays by many of those who spoke at the event.

Innovation knows no borders and this fundamental belief has shaped Carnegie Mellon's global presence. With faculty in a dozen international degree-granting locations, a large international student body and alumni in every major country, Carnegie Mellon University is the global university.

Learn more: www.cmu.edu/global.

Homepage Story Archives