Copy of Warwick Nest
The Warwick Nest Project
The Warwick Nest was a collaboration between Engineers Without Borders, Estates and the Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning (IATL).
Through the Warwick Nest project, students hoped to create a sustainable, low-carbon building on campus, whilst exploring how they could be more involved in their own teaching and learning through acting as co-producers.
The Nest Project originated in the student-society Engineers Without Borders (EWB), who aimed to promote international development and sustainability throughout the university. Two members of the society were inspired to build a small strawbale structure on campus after visiting a similar building, to be used as a base for EWB’s activities. A suitable site was identified, and a local expert in strawbale construction approached, subsequently beginning the process of building support and gaining approval from the university. The project was a representation of 'learning beyond boundaries', where students took the initiative to contribute to their experience at university, developing skills and competencies that went beyond their degree knowledge.
The two student leaders of the Warwick Nest project were Owen Thompson and Jack Gaskell and in 2016, a proposal was submitted by EWB to Warwick’s Capital Space and Amenities Group (CSAG). Whilst supportive of the project, CSAG recommended the proposal be refined to clarify: building governance; demand for the space; and funding for capital and maintenance costs.
Around the same time, IATL became aware of the project and helped the student leaders reconsider the project from a pedagogical perspective. The project leaders spoke at an IATL event in May 2016, where the Nest Project was presented with the renewed aim of exploring and promoting student-leadership in Higher Education. Funding was provided by IATL to employ an architect for an initial proposal and proposals for the building throughout 2017 became increasingly ambitious envisaging a modern, attractive landmark of sustainability with a focus on pedagogical development.
The architect’s proposal was submitted for approval in December 2017 and was met with enthusiasm. With all motions supported, for the remainder of the 2017/18 academic year, the project progressed through further planning with Estates. During this period the project leaders were confident that the Warwick Nest would be built and would provide around 300 square meters in teaching and communal spaces. However, ultimately, the University decided that it would not be able to fund the project.
Students as Leaders: A Campus of Ideas
Taking its inspiration from The Nest Project, an IATL-funded strategic project entitled 'Students as Leaders: a Campus of Ideas' was undertaken by three students (Nia Hughes from Politics and International Studies, Dominic Nah from English and Comparative Literary Studies, and Dammy Sokale from WBS) with the students seeking to build upon the progress achieved with the Warwick Nest Project.
It was hoped that the Nest would exemplify how teaching and learning could coexist equally with sustainability with the building having been designed by students as a teaching and learning space that would be inherently sustainable. The student researchers, therefore, explored what student-led sustainability looked like when applied to teaching and learning and considered the potential for a student-led sustainability module, a handbook, and outreach events.
Dominic was interested in how effective, consistent, and lasting pedagogical approaches could embed environmental sustainability practices in students’ learning experiences and worked on a full module proposal on student-led sustainability that would help build networks among sustainability projects on campus. The module was also intended to integrate theoretical approaches to sustainability and the marketisation of higher education to consider how student behaviour towards learning was influenced. It was hoped that the module would embody sustainable education by assessing students through critical reflection on – rather than the success of –a locally-embedded, student-led (possibly in collaboration with staff) project on sustainability.
Nia looked at existing opportunities within the University that could act as starting points for new methods of teaching and learning. For example, she found parts of different courses where there is more flexibility and opportunity to try out alternative methods, such as exploring whether there is scope for more interdisciplinary approaches to group projects. Through trying and testing various approaches in order to discover what works and what doesn’t, it was hoped to generate a more grounded base of evidence to inform decisions on larger-scale changes. In addition, she proposed the creation of a handbook. Part of the struggle involved in making learning more student-led is that there is little direction on the practicalities involved, such as who to go to for support, how to get funding, and what administrative red tape is in place. It was hoped that a handbook would help direct students on how to carry out their own projects and encourage more students to do so. The handbook would also act as a practical example of student-led work in action, and could be used as one of the readings in Dominic’s proposed module.
Dammy worked on outreach and events, focusing on exploring the viability of a sustainability festival and felt that there was potential for an event with sustainability as its central theme with teaching and learning objectives incorporated into it. An idea he explored was using the word ‘sustainability’ as a stimulus for people to respond to in different ways, such as by creating short plays, poetry, or music. There would also be the opportunity to broaden the reach of the event by screening films that tackle notions of sustainability in unique ways, and hosting workshops to explore these films further. An added benefit and a link back to the Warwick Nest would be that this festival could be an effective way to reach potential users of the building.
In addition to the three student researchers the project team comprised of Engineers Without Borders UK alongside key stakeholders from Estates and an external architect. There was also academic support from IATL with the student researchers working alongside a wide range of relevant parties including, importantly, other students.