The Warwick Sustainability Challenge (WSUsC) was launched in 2021 as an innovative example of a participatory design-led sustainability project.

Using a design thinking approach to problem solving, the project brought together university staff and students and Coventry City Council around a local sustainability challenge. So far, there have been two sustainability challenges that have focused upon the discovery and co-creation of ideas to solve a problem related to local public transport.

The driving principle of WSUsC is that participants bring their own lived experience, co-create and put forward potential solutions. It was supported Coventry City Council, and experts in sustainability and design thinking both on and off on campus.

In the process of doing so, participants frame and reframe the challenge from different angles and perspectives, opening a co-creation dialogue about community needs on and off campus, and their role in contributing to sustainability locally.

Design-thinking

The project team adopted the definition of design thinking as “…the application of design practice and its related competencies beyond the context of design for and with those without design backgrounds” (Chon & Sim, 2019, p. 189).

INSERT - WE need a really clear, simple couple of sentences about what exactly design-thinking is - for an audience with NO knowledge of design-thinking.

Project Aims

• To provide a whole higher education approach to sustainability, linking the teaching and learning provision (Curriculum), to values and ways of working and studying on Campus, and the local Community by engaging with local people and partners.
• To raise the profile of the importance of education for sustainable development, using an interdisciplinary approach and co-creation as important areas of student focus and engagement.

The Challenge Method

Students, staff and Coventry City Council challenge participants co-create ideas to tackle a real environmental challenge in Coventry, using a more holistic approach to sustainability in Higher Education. The Challenge engages participants in two three-hour workshops, an optional drop-in session with experts in the area, and a competition initiative.

The workshops are designed to facilitate a collaborative approach to reframing a challenge, and coach participants to help explore it in an innovative way. Following workshops, participants (in teams) have two weeks to submit their ideas in the form of an e-poster or a presentation, and a video.

The submissions are judged by an expert panel with the winning idea being developed further with Coventry City Council. There is a shareable cash prize for the top three teams, with other teams being commended by panel on their approach to different elements, such as innovation, cost effectiveness and engaging content.

Summer 2021: Transport

This challenge brought together staff and students to tackle to challenge of how to increase use of public transport, both on and off campus.

The project team included Dr Lory Barile (Economics), Nancy Olsen (WMG) and Dr Bo Kelestyn (WBS).

The expert judging panel included Bret Willers, Head of Climate Change and Sustainability, Coventry City Council; David Pipe, Senior Officer, Transport Strategy, Coventry City Council; Lee Griffin, Associate Professor, WMG, University of Warwick; and Lorenzo Lotti, Associate Professor, UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources.

Over 70 people took part, with five teams being selected by the panel to attend a final showcase event.

For more information and to see the entries please visit the project page.

Summer 2022: Waste

This challenge promoted climate education at Warwick and enhance best practices to transition to net zero with particular focus on waste.

The project team included Dr Lory Barile (Economics), Dr Bo Kelestyn (WBS), David Chapman (Estates) and Evelin Sanderson-Nicholls (Estates).

The judging panel included: Rosie Drinkwater (Group Finance Director - Warwick); Kate Thompson (Waste & Recycling Manager - Warwick); Parvez Islam (Director of Environmental Sustainability - Warwick); Ian McFarlane-Toms (Business Ready Programme Manager - Warwick) and Dr Lorenzo Lotti (Associate Professor in Economics of Energy and the Environment – UCL).

The project aimed to:

• Engage the university community with waste and recycling.
• Generate ideas to implement and imbed the waste hierarchy and circular economy.

For more information and to see the entries please visit the Waste project page.