The United Nations defines Global Sustainable Development (GSD) as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”*.

The world’s population is predicted to grow from six to almost ten billion between the years 2000 and 2050, with the next few decades predicted to witness significant transformations in economic growth, international relations, human development, biodiversity, human health, and social justice.

Our degrees equip students with the expertise, skills, and knowledge that enable them to contribute meaningfully to the debates about these big problems, so that they can make a real difference to the world. At undergraduate level, we offer a single honours degree and 12 joint honours degrees. We have also launched new postgraduate programmes in GSD.

To find out more about GSD at Warwick, please see here.

*United Nations Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future, 1987

The competition provides year 11 and 12 students (school pupils aged between 15 and 17 years) with the opportunity to think creatively and gain valuable research skills as they learn more about global sustainable development.

Since it was established, we have expanded the types of entries that can be submitted to include videos, podcasts and poetry, as well as more traditional essay responses. This is in line with our aim to engage with students from a variety of different backgrounds and interests, giving them the chance to present their unique perspectives on issues of global sustainable development. This also aligns with our pedagogical approach, as we are aware that, for some of these ‘big problems’, we need creative responses.

If you are shortlisted and UK-based, you will be invited to an on-campus event on Saturday 5th July 2025 at the University of Warwick's main campus, hosted by the GSD Department. During this event, you will hear from staff and current students from the GSD Department, and we will announce the winners of the competition. International shortlisted applicants will be invited to a virtual event on Saturday 12th July 2025. 

The event and prizes are recognition of your achievement and effort in tackling the types of topics our degrees aim to address. We hope this experience will be a great opportunity for you to have your voice heard. We also hope it's a time you can refer to when you challenged yourself beyond your everyday studies at school.

Previous winners have had their work published in GLOBUS, a student-run online publication at the School for Cross-faculty Studies.

The judging panel will consist of members of academic staff from the GSD Team, our current students, and the GLOBUS Team. We will be looking for your engagement with your chosen topic, your understanding of the issue, and your creativity in your response.

The competition is open to you if you are in year 11 or 12 in the UK, or if you are a school pupil in the 15 to 17 year old age group equivalent from anywhere around the world. It doesn't matter who you are, where you are from or what subjects you currently study. We are looking for unique entries, and as you will see on our Enter page, we accept a whole range of responses from traditional essays to videos. Whatever your background, we would like to hear what you have to say about issues of global sustainable development.

We accept individual submissions and group submissions. Individuals involved in group submissions must be from the same school.

Entry for the 2025 competition is now open! Find out how to join by visiting our Enter page.

If you are a school teacher and you think your students could benefit from taking part in our competition, please pass on the word for us and encourage your students to get involved. Please could we ask that you circulate information about the competition amongst your students and add it to relevant newsletters and student communications.

Hear from the schools of some of our previous competition winners and runners up:

• Success in National Global Sustainable Development Competition
• Global Sustainable Development Competition Winners
• Runners Up in the Warwick University Global Sustainable Development Competition 2021

If you would like to find out about other events in the GSD Department that your pupils could be involved in, please visit our Outreach pages.