Between 30 March – 5 April 2025, over 21 next-generation climate leaders from eight countries (and 13 nationalities), will attend Warwick’s pioneering Sustainability Training Academy in Venice.

Launched in 2023 by the Institute of Global Sustainable Development (IGSD), and supported by the COP29 Scientific Council, the Sustainability Training Academy equips early career researchers (ECRs) with the interdisciplinary analytical, methodological, and practical skills needed to address the systemic challenges of climate change, climate justice and climate transition.

Maria Anjelica Ancheta, third-year PhD candidate, the Asian Institute of Technology, and attendee of the programme in 2024 said “The workshops on participatory approaches in research dissemination and collaborative projects broadened my perspective on engaging stakeholders beyond academia to appreciate and apply scientific insights. The opportunity to present my research project helped me to receive constructive feedback from resilience experts in the training school. The professors in Warwick generously connected me with fellow participants working on similar themes, fostering potential collaborations.”

The ECRs come from diverse academic backgrounds, including environmental science, economics, political science, sociology, and anthropology. Through the Academy’s flagship interdisciplinary approach, the participants will build the skills and networks needed to drive forward their careers and climate justice. They will also develop their group projects to address planetary challenges, with the best being supported by Warwick’s Sustainability Spotlight for further research funding.

Professor Elena Korosteleva, the founder of the Sustainability Training School, and IGSD Director, commented further: “This is such an important initiative for Warwick: it makes the University so central to shaping more sustainable futures, and raising the next generation of global leaders conscious of climate challenges we all face. What’s new this year is that we are supported by the COP29 global academic community, Azim Primji University and India and ADA in Azerbaijan, to offer place-based experience for our ECRs, which is an invaluable learning!”

This year’s participants will be exposed to a hands-on resilience building in regions such as Lankaran in Azerbaijan, Bukhara in Uzbekistan, and Bengaluru in India, bridging connections between theory and practice. This emphasis reflects the growing need to strengthen both adaptive capacity and resilience in the face of climate change, particularly for marginalised and vulnerable groups.

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The Sustainability Training Academy is part of the University’s Sustainability Spotlight, a university-wide initiative to support and shape research in sustainability.

 

For further information contact:

Heather Holve, Media & Communications Officer (Science), The University of Warwick Heather.Holve@Warwick.ac.uk / 07803 052441