Global Sustainable Development News

We are delighted to have welcomed several new members of staff to the School for Cross-faculty Studies this month. We look forward to seeing the impact that Dr Xiaodong Lin, Dr Nikoleta Jones, Sam Gane, Sheree Thompson, Shehzadi Azis, and Ella Jones have in their new roles.

Each year we run the Global Sustainable Development Competition. This is an exciting opportunity for school students in year 11 and 12 (aged between 15 and 17 years) to think creatively and gain valuable research skills as they learn more about global sustainable development. In the five years that we have run the competition, this year we have received the highest number of entries yet!

Our GSD finalists were awarded their degrees on Monday 12 July 2021. The past two years have been particularly challenging and we are so proud of everyone who has graduated this year.

^{Image credit: Future Leaders 2020-21}

We are delighted to share the news that final-year Liberal Arts student, Matilda Oduntan, and Sociology and GSD graduate, Seiwaa Osei Afriyie, have been named among the UK’s most outstanding African and African Caribbean future leaders.

Image credit: EUTOPIA European University

^{Image credit: Dr. Cécile Girardin, University of Oxford}

The Climate Exp0 conference, hosted in May this year, aimed to showcase the latest thinking and international research relevant to climate change and raise ambition for tangible outcomes at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November. Online and free, the conference was designed to support the climate change research agenda and stimulate virtual collaboration among different stakeholders. Current GSD student, Scarlett Scott-Nadal, took part in Climate Exp0 as a student volunteer; and recent GSD graduate, Mia Sannapureddy, was selected to present her research on the premise for a fossil-free bond index. Hear from Scarlett and Mia below about their experiences of the conference.

^{Image credit: Dr Marco J Haenssgen}

Dr Nick Bernards, Assistant Professor in GSD, has recently published two articles on the history of agricultural credit and its importance in shaping global development.

The latest issue of Reinvention: an International Journal of Undergraduate Research presents a diverse range of content and themes that all comment on ideas of interconnectedness, interdisciplinarity, and sustainability. Moreover, it includes several contributions from students and staff in the GSD Department!

Current and former students from the School for Cross-faculty Studies presented their research on 12-13 April at the British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR) 2021.

Established in 2011, BCUR is the largest conference in the UK dedicated exclusively to undergraduate research, promoting and sharing research in all disciplines. The conference usually takes place each year at a different University. This year, the University of Leeds delivered the conference virtually.