ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2025
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. This year, 60,000+ young leaders applied to join the Class of 2025 on 7,000+ campuses across 170 nations. 290+ campuses worldwide (less than 5%) were selected to host the 4,500+ Millennium Fellows.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT DINO ZIQI ZHAO, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2025.
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University | Suzhou, China | Advancing SDG 15, SDG 11 & UNAI 9
" The Millennium Fellowship provides critical leverage to scale our grassroots conservation work into institutional action. By gaining global validation and strategic frameworks through this platform, we will demonstrate to XJTLU how student-led biodiversity initiatives – like our anti-collision project – can elevate the university's regional leadership in sustainable development, thereby securing vital campus support for Yangtze River Delta ecological advocacy. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: XJTLU Biodiversity-Friendly Campus Construction
Our project is based at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) in Suzhou Industrial Park, China—a rapidly urbanizing area where biodiversity is declining due to excessive development. On campus, birds frequently collide with glass buildings, and green spaces lack ecological diversity. Stray cats (not considered wildlife) dominate, further disrupting the local ecosystem. To address these issues, we’re: 1) Preventing bird collisions by applying anti-bird collision stickers to high-risk windows. 2) Collecting bird collision data on all campus buildings to identify hotspots. 3) Using infrared cameras to study wildlife distribution (excluding birds and insects, which are monitored separately). 4)Building an XJTLU campus network to promote biodiversity awareness and action among students. Our goal is to make XJTLU a model for urban biodiversity conservation while inspiring long-term ecological stewardship.
About the Millennium Fellow
Dino Ziqi Zhao is an energetic and driven third-year student at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. Concerned by “the disappearance of the nearby” and its social and ecological consequences – including habitat loss, species decline, and nature blindness – he champions urban biodiversity conservation starting on campus. Dino mobilizes fellow students through citizen science projects (bird collision surveys, biodiversity monitoring), impactful exhibitions and talks, and practical initiatives like installing anti-bird collision stickers and promoting native species. He aims to continue his impactful work in both local, regional and international conservation, alongside contributions to foundational research in environmental sciences.
