Our GSD finalists were awarded their degrees on Wednesday 22 July 2020. We are incredibly proud of our Class of 2020 for all of their successes and for overcoming challenges throughout their time at Warwick.

This has been a year like no other and unfortunately, we have not been able to celebrate our students' successes on campus in the usual way. We hope to be able to congratulate our graduates on campus when it is safe to do so and give them the graduation ceremony that they very much deserve.

"I would like to congratulate you all and wish you an excellent summer. It will most probably not be the summer you had expected, but I hope you can relax, disconnect a little, and enjoy the break. I would also like to thank you for being such amazing students. Your support, adaptability, and resilience over the past months has been heartwarming and we're very proud of you. We wish you all the best for the future, whatever is awaiting you after the summer."

Dr Stéphanie Panichelli-Batalla, Head of the School for Cross-faculty Studies

Virtual yearbook

Our staff and students have been adding messages to our GSD Virtual Yearbook 2020 which you can view here.

Staying in touch

GSD graduates, please remember to register on warwickgrad.net so that we can keep in touch with you. In addition, you can:

• Join our GSD Alumni LinkedIn Group
• Email us at globalsustainabledev@warwick.ac.uk (or one of your tutors) to let us know how you're getting on

Warwick Sutton Scholars is a two-year programme for highly able Year 8 and 9 students from under-represented backgrounds in higher education across the West Midlands. The aim of the programme, coordinated by Maria Kehr (Widening Participation and Outreach team), is to inspire students to consider university as an option for the future.

The Year 9 programme is run in collaboration with our Department. The programme consists of a two-day residential and several campus days, culminating with a graduation event.

The GSD team involved in the programme this year included two GSD student ambassadors, Hana Chua (final-year single honours GSD student) and Marina Zorila (final-year Economic Studies and GSD student), working under the guidance of Dr Marta Guerriero, Associate Professor in GSD, to design and deliver the academic content of the programme. GSD student ambassador Elizabeth Disdel (second-year Philosophy and GSD student) was also involved in one of the campus days.

Each year we run a competition for Year 12 students. This is an exciting opportunity for students to think creatively and gain valuable research skills as they learn more about global sustainable development.

We received a high number of submissions this year and we were very impressed with the quality of the entries. Many congratulations to the winners and all shortlisted entrants!

^{Image credit: Johnny Silvercloud/flickr}

The murder of George Floyd (and so many others) has affected all of us. We understand that some of you in our community have been particularly hurt by this. Racism is a systemic feature of our society, and this is not limited to what has been happening in the United States in the past few weeks and over the years.

Here in the School for Cross-faculty Studies, we are strongly against any type of racist activity and we commit to an anti-racist culture and education.

Warwick Cup, founded by three final-year GSD students - Maddie Booth, Ellie Church, and Hollie Ryan - has been nominated for the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainability’ category of the Students’ Union’s Student Voice and Impact Awards.  

Congratulations to our final-year GSD and Business Studies student, Alice Vodden, for presenting her research at the Posters in Parliament event in Westminster in March!

Our students have the chance to spend a semester abroad in their second year of study. In this post, Katharina Neisinger, Maja Voelkel, and Luke Netherclift reflect on their time at Monash University, and how it was cut short by the outbreak of COVID-19.

Applications for the International Conference of Undergraduate Research (ICUR) 2020 are now open!

ICUR is a great opportunity for you to present your research to a global audience. Sponsored by the Monash-Warwick Alliance, the video-linked conference will take place from 29-30 September 2020, connecting students at the University of Warwick, Monash University, as well as other institutions around the world.

The deadline for abstract submissions is Sunday 31 May 2020. You can submit your abstract here.

Congratulations to Maddie Booth, one of our final year Politics, International Studies and GSD students, for putting together an art exhibition throughout March to address the important issue of gender based violence (GBV).

Congratulations to our students for securing funding for research projects over the summer!

The Undergraduate Research Support Scheme (URSS) enables undergraduate students to carry out an interdisciplinary summer research project. The scheme is open to any undergraduate student at Warwick. Research can be completed in the UK or abroad.

Four GSD students have successfully secured a bursary this year: Benjamin Georges-Picot, Angelo Balagtas, Cathy Dong and Tanyaradzwa Kasinganeti. Their research projects will be presented in the form of a poster showcase at the annual URSS Celebration and Research Showcase, which will take place at the start of the next academic year.