Registration for the World Innovation Challenge is currently open until Monday 5 October 2020.

This is a great opportunity for Warwick students to work in international teams with Monash University students. The aim is to create a business idea that tackles a key sustainability challenge. The Challenge starts on Friday 9 October 2020 at 9:30 am (BST). Participants will work online for 48 hours (including sleep/resting and other work) to make a business plan.

The International Conference of Undergraduate Research (ICUR) is an annual academic conference, led and sponsored by the University of Warwick and Monash University, connecting student researchers globally using video conferencing technology.

This year, the forum will take place on the 29-30 September and will be modified to accommodate current pandemic restrictions. Both audience and presenters will join the conference virtually through the new ICUR App. A number of students from the School for Cross-faculty Studies will be presenting their research at ICUR next week.

On Friday 25 September 2020 at 12-1pm (UK time), Warwick will be launching its inaugural report on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report will highlight the University’s progress towards the SDGs, covering case studies on various initiatives that are contributing towards the goals.

This first report of its kind is the product of collaboration between academics across the University and the Sustainability team in Estates. From the School for Cross-faculty Studies, the working group has included the Head of School, Dr Stéphanie Panichelli-Batalla; and the Director of the Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD), Professor João Porto de Albuquerque.

During the event, the University’s Provost, Professor Christine Ennew, will introduce the report before handing over to members of the group who’ve been involved in its production to expand on some of its key areas. There will be time for discussion, and the event aims to offer an opportunity for the Warwick community to reflect on the progress to date and contribute to a discussion on what might come next.

How to register

This event will take place on Microsoft Teams and is open to all. You can register for the event here. By registering for the event you will be sent the link to the event and a copy of the report.

Find out more about the event.

Taking place next week on 2-3 September 2020, the Disruption, Decarbonisation and Reparations conference is an online series of events "bringing together activists, civil society leaders, and academics working towards the common goal of climate justice, broadly construed". Organised by Warwick's interdisciplinary Research in Global Governance Network (RiGG NET), the conference aims to touch on many of the diverse issues that form part of the climate justice conversation.

Dr Leon Sealey-Huggins, Assistant Professor in GSD, is a co-organiser of the event and will be involved in a number of sessions, including:

• Chairing a session on Wednesday 2 September titled ‘Justice centred transition and reparation’ (9:30-11 am BST)
• Speaking on Thursday 3 September during a session titled ‘Strategising pathways forward: COP26 and beyond when organising for climate justice’ (4-6 pm BST)

Each session during the two-day conference will consist of a panel-style event in which contributors present their work, followed by a group discussion and questions.

Staff and students are welcome to register and attend. You can register for the conference here. 

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!

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).

On Monday 24 February 2020, Warwick Cup launched its reusable cup sharing system at Curiositea, one of the food and drink outlets on campus. The launch was a great opportunity to celebrate the hard work put into this project by the students involved and to find out more about the initiative.

Warwick Cup has been founded by final year Politics, International Studies (PAIS) and GSD students Hollie Ryan and Maddie Booth, and final year Economic Studies and GSD student Ellie Church. The inspiration for the project came from their time at Monash University, where they had the chance to see how an idea like this would work across campus.

L-R: Seiwaa Osei Afriyie, H.E Samira Bawumia (Republic of Ghana)

On 25-26 January 2020, the Warwick Africa Summit 2020 took place in the Oculus Building at the University of Warwick. The Warwick Africa Summit is an interdisciplinary conference focused on African development and is solely organised by students. Students from the GSD Department were part of the team behind the Warwick Africa Summit 2020, including final year Sociology and GSD student Seiwaa Osei Afriyie (President of the Warwick Africa Summit), second year Single Honours GSD student Taigh Adebajo (Co-Director of Finance) and second year Single Honours GSD student Trinity Awelo (Logistics). As President of the Warwick Africa Summit, Seiwaa has put together her highlights of the event.