How can we improve sustainability with a more connected campus?

The UCL Sustainability Team and UCLU Green Economy Society are working together to run termly sustainability challenges, designed to create real solutions to pressing sustainability issues at UCL and in the wider world.

The Challenge:
UCL’s academic community has a huge amount of knowledge and expertise. How can students use the expertise of UCL academics to better inform their work to make UCL and the wider world more sustainable? We’re challenging you to develop an intervention, project or strategy to allow students to tap into the expertise of UCL academics to shape their sustainability campaigns, advocacy or social enterprises.

Interested? Complete the expression of interest form

The process:
Both teams and individuals can tackle this brief. Just fill out the expression of interest form to be kept up-to-date with information and events on this challenge. Help and guidance to develop your ideas will be given where possible by the UCL Sustainability Team and UCLU Green Economy Society. The Connected Campus challenge is live from 1st December 2015. Submissions can be made in several formats: as a short essay (not exceeding 1500 words), as a poster, a prototype of a product or service, or as a video [not exceeding 5 minutes in length]. To submit your idea, please email it to alex.green@ucl.ac.uk. Entries will be judged on:

• Likely effectiveness in creating a more Connected Campus
• Innovation and originality
• Ease of implementation at UCL

The result:
The closing date for entries will be the February 26th 2016. Entries will be showcased and winners announced at the UCLU Green Economy Society’s Annual Conference on Sustainability on the 2nd March. The winning team or individual will receive the title of UCL Sustainability Challenge Winner(s) and a £200 prize. A £50 runner-up prize will also be given. Where possible, the Sustainability Team and others may work with the winning entrants to trial their initiatives on campus, although this cannot be guaranteed.

Key dates:

• 1st December 2015: Competition opens
• 26th February 2016, 5.00pm: Competition closes
• 2nd March 2016: Winners announced at the Green Economy Society Conference Day.

If you’d like to find out more, please contact either the UCLU Green Economy Society or the UCL Sustainability Team. Fill out the expression of interest form to be kept up-to-date with info and events for this challenge.

Complete the expression of interest form

Rules and guidance:
Entrants must be current UCL students at any level of study. Individuals and teams of up to 6 members can enter the competition. If no competition entries are judged to be suitable, we reserve the right not to award any teams. By submitting their initiatives, teams agree that they cannot be used commercially in any way and that others are free to use and adapt them, as long as they credit the original creators. To submit your idea, please email it to alex.green@ucl.ac.uk. If you'd like to send files that are too big to email, feel free to use a service like Dropbox. If you'd like to submit your entry in person, please contact Alex to arrange a time to drop this off at our office in Bidborough House (near Kings Cross).