NYU Shanghai Students Named 2024 Millennium Fellows

For the second year running, a large cohort of NYU Shanghai students were awarded a Millennium Fellowship from The United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) and Millennium Campus Network (MCN) to encourage students to take leadership on social change initiatives. The more than 20 fellows are among a roster of 4,000 students on more than 280 campuses in 48 countries selected for the fellowship, just a small percentage of the more than 52,000 applicants worldwide.

Throughout the four-month long Millennium Fellowship program, fellows undertake projects that address United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), applying what they learn to create tangible change.

NYU Shanghai Millennium Fellowship campus leaders Yin Kaiwen ’25 and Anand Nizamkar ’27 were selected to provide organizational support for this year’s cohort and run workshops. They said that the fellowship is also helping students build community and make friends. “Many of them have never met before,” said Yin, adding he was happy to meet others who “share the same view with me– they want to do something great for the society, for social impact.”

At a September meeting, some of the fellows shared their inspirations for their projects, which they will carry out throughout the fall semester. “It's awesome how people from such diverse cultures and backgrounds are coming together for one big purpose - making a real impact,” said Nizamkar. “This cohort is huge, and so are our ambitions. We're not just dreaming big; we're working on it, and that's what makes this journey so exciting for the entire community.”

Global Awards Director Anna Kendrick congratulated the fellows. “From quality education to sustainable cities, each fellow brings a unique project and perspective to the overall cohort, making it more than the sum of its parts,” she said. “Through conversations, training, learning and mutual support, Millennium Fellows unite their academic learning, case studies and faculty mentorship to begin enacting small but definite leadership contributions on campus and beyond.”

One NYU Shanghai Millennium fellow was also one of 10 students worldwide to be selected for the Coach Dream It Real x Coachtopia Scholarship. The scholarship, a collaboration between Coach Foundation, Coachtopia, and Millennium Campus Network (MCN), is an initiative designed to empower undergraduate student leaders from historically underrepresented communities who are committed to advancing sustainability and circularity, particularly within the fashion industry.

Namuun Turkhuu ’27, a Business and Finance major, won the scholarship with her proposal, a sustainable fashion brand inspired by nomadic cultural identity and traditional eco-friendly methods. Turkhuu said she was inspired by her own Mongolian culture and hopes to collaborate with customers and other brands to promote sustainable fashion and support educational programs on circular economy. As part of the scholarship, she will be paired with an industry mentor who will support her as she develops her project. “For many of us, this is a chance to expand our voices and make a meaningful impact on the world,” said Turkhuu. “Above all, it is an investment in our potential, our creativity, and our shared vision of a sustainable future.”

This is the second year that a cohort of NYU Shanghai students have been selected for the fellowship. Last year, 23 NYU Shanghai students were named Millennium Fellows.

See the list of all the NYU Shanghai Millennium Fellows and their projects.