Imagine trying to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) without higher education. As key institutions of civil society, universities are uniquely positioned between the communities they serve and the governments they advise. Through the CIDA-funded University Partnerships in Cooperation and Development program, Canadian universities have been partnering with higher education institutions in the developing world to build the training and research capacity they need to solve their country's development problems. The capacity-building partnerships between Canadian universities and their counterparts in developing countries have already contributed in significant ways to the achievement of the MDGs, as the examples accompanying each goal described in this document will show.