UCL undergraduates chosen as Millennium Fellows 2024–25

Run by the Millennium Campus Network (MCN) and United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), the Millennium Fellowship Scheme is an international leadership development programme through which undergraduate students help to further the SDGs in their communities.

The application process for the Class of 2024 was competitive, with over 4,000 Millennium Fellows selected globally from 297 campuses across 47 countries. Once again, UCL’s students were successful, securing the most Millennium Fellows of any UK university for the fifth year running. Among the 14 universities in Europe that were had sufficiently large cohorts of Fellows to be designated a ‘Millenium Campus’ status, UCL has formed the largest with 26 students selected as Millennium Fellows.

In their application, students need to propose a project that addresses the SDGs on their campus or in their community, which they then undertake during their tenure as a Fellow. Among the projects proposed by UCL’s Fellows were:

Julia Madden from UCL Division of Biosciences’ project on ‘Addressing homelessness in our community’ which addresses SDGs 1: No Poverty. Speaking on the project, Julia said:

Homelessness is a very present but ignored issue in London, especially in West London where it is a wealthy area and therefore homelessness is less obvious. I currently volunteer providing food for people who are affected by homelessness and would like to increase the network between other establishments, mainly churches, who provide help for those affected by homelessness. The project would encourage people in the UCL community to volunteer at these groups as there is a huge number of people who attend UCL and we could make a significant impact to our community through volunteering.”

Reka Szabo from UCL School of European Languages, Culture and Society, will focus on SDG 4: Quality Education, in the project ‘Educación sin Fronteras’. Reka said:

A lot of young people are losing their connection to their native language. At university, studying a language opens doors to critical thinking and cultural awareness, helping us understand things we might never have thought about, like how indigenous languages in Latin America are disappearing. I want to create a project where university students volunteer to tutor younger students in target languages, with a strong focus on culture. The goal is to support students from underrepresented backgrounds, especially in areas where schools may not have the funding to provide strong language programs. I hope to pass on my passion and help more young people see language learning as something exciting, relevant, and deeply connected to their identity.”

Casey Abrahams from UCL Chemical Engineering’s project ‘ModPill’ addresses SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being. Speaking on the ModPill project, Casey said:

Over 2 million elderly people in the UK live alone, many struggling to manage complex medication routines. ModPill is a smart pill organiser that stores meds in original packaging, lights up the right compartment at the right time, and connects to an app for family peace of mind, helping older adults stay independent, safely.”

Simon Knowles, UCL’s Head of Grand Challenges (Education & Student Experience and SDGs), said:

“ “The repeated success of our students is testament to the importance the student community place on the SDGs and their enthusiasm for addressing them." 

The 2024–25 UCL Millennium Fellows are:
•    Chee Joon Gan (UCL Economics)
•    Sophia Dudler (UCL Risk and Disaster Reduction)
•    Aaravamudhan Balaji (University College London)*
•    Ananya Agarwal (UCL Political Science)
•    Casey Abrahams (UCL Chemical Engineering)
•    Cho Wan Wong (UCL Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering)*
•    Ella Pfirsch (UCL Faculty of Engineering Sciences)
•    Elyse Toh (UCL Political Science)
•    Esja Tejani (UCL Risk and Disaster Reduction)
•    Ethan Cheung (UCL IOE, Education, Practice and Society)
•    Julia Madden (UCL Division of Biosciences)
•    Junyi Li (UCL Science and Technology Studies)
•    Lenie Lteif (UCL Arts and Sciences)
•    Long Ning Chan (UCL Faculty of Social & Historical Sciences)
•    Madeleine Loveless (UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies)
•    Owen Tsai (UCL Faculty of Social & Historical Sciences)
•    Rachel Wan (UCL Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering)
•    Reka Szabo (UCL School of European Languages, Culture and Society)
•    Rowena Shivam (UCL Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources)
•    Rozy Angeliki Betrosian (UCL European and International Social and Political Studies)
•    Ruby Qureshi (UCL European and International Social and Political Studies)
•    Samuel Acosta-Fernandez (UCL Department of Arts and Sciences)
•    Sara Kapoor (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies (SSEES))
•    Sasha Cattle (UCL History)
•    Selin Kilinc (UCL Division of Biosciences)
•    Suha Kamran (University College London)