Earth Day is an international event held annually on 22 April to demonstrate support for the planet we call home. Every year, Earth Day involves a wide range of sustainability-focused events coordinated globally across 193 countries.

On this year's Earth Day, we are delighted to announce the success of our funding bid to the Institute of Advanced Training and Learning at the University of Warwick that will enable us to develop a reusable learning resource – Sustainability Education as a Warwick Core Skill. This project will be jointly delivered by Warwick Enterprise (Debbie Smith and David Voss), Student Opportunity (Ninna Makrinov), and Estates (Joel Cardinal, David Chapman and Katherine Mayfield), and supported by Global Sustainable Development.

Through this project, we will develop the Sustainability element of the Warwick Core Skills Moodle. We aim to co-create a staff and student-led self-paced learning resource that offers an in-depth introduction into sustainability for all Warwick students to engage with. Featuring thought-provoking resources and inspiring action through student and graduate case studies, the space will also provide links to activities and opportunities by various service providers and organisations. The ultimate aim of our project is to educate a campus-wide student community of sustainability champions that will go on to create positive impact throughout their careers.

The project supports the University of Warwick’s commitment to sustainability as a signatory to the SDG Accord (signed in February 2020) and the Global Universities and Colleges Climate Letter. We recognise the importance of supporting students to have the skills and confidence to ‘act’ upon the sustainability related issues we face, both now and in the future.

“Having recently been named as a finalist in the ‘Enterprise’ category for the 2020 Green Gown Awards for our Summer Programme 2020 – Inspiring SDG Innovators, we at Warwick Enterprise recognise the need to support sustainability-focused entrepreneurship by equipping our students and graduates with the skills they need to make a difference.

We are really excited to be a part of this collaborative project, as we’ve seen more students engage in sustainably related entrepreneurship over the last few years, such as the campus-wide reusable cup scheme Warwick Cup (supported through the Student Enterprise Fund) and sustainable eyewear start-up Icycle (supported through both the Student Enterprise Fund and Creative Futures Incubator). We can’t wait to share more of our impact stories through this sustainability platform and inspire new changemakers to create a positive impact through their actions.

As home for the entrepreneurship ecosystem on campus, we want our students and graduates to recognise that there are so many opportunities for them to bring about positive change in the world. This support exists on campus for those with innovative ideas, through Warwick Enterprise and the wealth of resources within the University, which include funding opportunities, workshops, and (online) training programmes.”

“Student Opportunity enables students to develop a global perspective, become culturally aware, and have confidence in achieving your vision of career success. We do this by supporting you to engage with a rich and varied range of experiences and opportunities helping you to achieve your full potential. Sustainability as a Warwick Core Skill invites us all to think about the wider implications of our actions. We are very excited to be able to co-create this resource with our students and colleagues. Learning from each other and recognising we all have knowledge and tools to make Warwick and the world a better place is at our core.”

“With sustainability and regenerative cultures being at the forefront of all future decisions that will be made we are very happy that this initiative is moving forward. We look forward to collaborating with the other teams involved and helping to ensure that students are provided with the resources they need to become global citizens and change makers in today’s world and for them to help others prepare for a more sustainable future.”

We are recruiting four colleagues to join us in this exciting new project. These positions are open to students or recent graduates from the University of Warwick. Please read the full job descriptions by clicking on the links below. We look forward to receiving your applications.

Sustainability Project Officer – E-learning development: Job description here

Sustainability Project Officer – Project Administration: Job description here