Date: May 2025
WeLab is proud to announce that James K. Holder II, Dr. Eunhwa Yang, and Abdurrahman Baru have been awarded a 2025–2026 Undergraduate Sustainability Education Innovation (USEI) Grant from Georgia Tech’s Center for Teaching and Learning.
The grant supports the development and delivery of the VIP course “Global Perspectives in Climate Migration: Resilience, Relocation, and Sustainable Futures.” This innovative course brings together students from multiple disciplines to investigate how climate-related migration reshapes communities, infrastructure, and the built environment.
Climate migration is one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century, affecting millions of people worldwide. Rising sea levels, intensifying storms, and extreme heat events are already displacing vulnerable populations. The course prepares students to analyze these issues through the lenses of resilience, relocation, equity, and sustainable design, providing them with both the theoretical foundation and applied tools to envision solutions.
“This grant provides us the resources to build an educational experience that not only studies migration patterns but also equips students to design community-centered responses,” said Holder. With guidance from Dr. Yang and Baru, the course integrates research, practice, and policy perspectives while emphasizing the lived experiences of displaced communities.
The USEI award reflects Georgia Tech’s commitment to sustainability education and recognizes WeLab’s leadership in linking academic research to real-world impact. By combining rigorous inquiry with hands-on design and analysis, the course positions Georgia Tech students to become leaders in addressing global climate challenges.