The SHAPE Sustainability Impact Project is a collaborative project between the British Academy (BA) and Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK)which uses a ‘living laboratory’ model to demonstrate the importance of arts, humanities and social sciences in tackling sustainability challenges. The project adopts the British Academy's use of the term SHAPE to describe Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts for thePeople and the Economy/Environment.

This is the fourth successful year of the project. Six universities were selected to take part after expressing their interest including: University of Bedfordshire, Lancaster University, University of Exeter/Falmouth University(joint), University College London (UCL) East, Nottingham Trent University and University of Wolverhampton.

Nottingham Trent University and University of Wolverhampton took part in SHAPE Sustainability Impact Projects last year (read the 2022-2023 conference blog here). Both universities had positive project outcomes and staff support during the last iteration of the project, and so they were welcomed to join this year after expressing their interest to take part again.

Each university recruited a cohort of students from arts, humanities and social science disciplines, who became SHAPE project leaders at their university. After the virtual project launch in February 2024, staff from each university gave students a sustainability challenge to tackle. Students then formed interdisciplinary teams to design a project which tackles their assigned challenges. The four challenges cover a wide range of environmental, economic and social sustainability issues such as community partnership, plant based diets, international students and ethical banking to name a few.  

Since the project's launch, workshops and support were facilitated by SOS-UK and staff at each of the six universities to prepare students to plan and develop their projects, supporting them to apply their specialist knowledge to find solutions for sustainability challenges, and enabling an understanding of the relevance and impact of their disciplines in tackling these challenges through applied learning.

After five months, over 30 students presented their projects, including their recommendations, to SOS-UK and early career researchers from the British Academy at the final conference, which was held over 2 days on Thursday 27^thand Friday 28^th June at University of Birmingham’s Guild of Students.

Day 1 – Thursday 27^th June

The first day began with welcome remarks from Adam Wright (Head of Public Policy at British Academy) and Quinn Runkle (Director of Education at SOS-UK) to set the scene for the two day conference.

After networking and a delicious plant-based lunch provided by the Guild of Students, we had a workshop and panel discussion on SHAPE skills in the sustainability sector which consisted of early career researchers and British Academy staff.

Students and staff also had opportunity to ask questions via an anonymous online system called Slido. Questions included: ‘It’s election time so if you had a magic wand, what policy would you like to see implemented to enhance sustainability?’ and ‘Sustainability is an evolving field. How can students (and academics) stay informed and continue learning about sustainability throughout their careers?’.

We then had the first set of presentations. There were two groups from Lancaster University. The first group titled their project ‘Understanding of Ethical Banking’.
They aimed to explore students’ awareness and understanding of ethical banking, and provide insights into the potential impact of ethical banking education. The students who developed this project: Panagiota Ftochou, Evita Lagoudaki, Khalisah Mahmood and Myrto Stamatopoulou.

The second groups’ project was titled ‘Students' Consumption Behaviour and their Interaction with Lancaster’. They aimed to assess students’ consumption patterns for buying foods, clothes and books; understand how the local community and students interact with each other; and evaluate whether students’ consumption behaviour and interaction with the local area whilst at Lancaster University is sustainable. The students who developed this project: Jeremy Ayisah and Mitrajjit Senthilkumar.

Next up was a group (who joined solely online) from University of Exeter/Falmouth University. They titled their project ‘Community Conversation for People and Planet with RJ Working’. They partnered with RJWorking to create and facilitate a pilot community conversation in Camborne and Redruth; collate data from a survey to apply for funding and inform conversations; and research and collate community-based (and climate-related)contacts and build strong connections. The students who developed this project: Isabella Field, Ed Hart and Auriel Poulain.  

The last presentation of Day 1 was a group from University of Wolverhampton who developed their project around plant-based food options at their university. They aimed to change their university menu, convince more people to eat plan-based options on campus, and make the plant-based food options more appealing. They did this through research, attending meetings, contacting catering services and producing a questionnaire to gauge students’ perceptions of plant-based foods. The students who developed this project: Tijan Njie, Frank Ofosu, Rhianne Bagley and Ellie-May Greensill.
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Day 2 – Friday 28^th June

The second day started with an interactive KETSO workshop, delivered by the British Academy, which touched on the BA’s ‘Where We Live Next’ programme and posed questions to students such as:

‘The year is 2050, we have been transported into the future. We’re all very happy to learn that the green transition has been a success. What do you hope this sustainable future looks like?’.

‘How do you think your SHAPE Impact Project relate to the themes in our Where We Live Next programme?’

‘As young voices, what do you think policymakers should be doing to achieve a sustainable future?’

The first presentation of Day 2 was delivered by Nottingham Trent University who partnered with The Framework Knitters Museum. They aimed to promote sustainable development at the Framework Knitters Museum by taking a comprehensive approach and covering cultural, social, environmental, and economic sustainability. They sought to do this through educational programmes, community engagement, and practical initiatives. The students who developed this project include: Abdikaffi Hassan Kanyare, Hnin Eaindra Lwin, Kazi Taiba Bari Nowsheen, Samantha (Marriott) Famula and Xuewei Ren.

Next, we had a presentation by students from University College London (UCL) whose project was titled ‘Challenges of Sustainable Design: From Theory to Practice’. They hosted an event to promote SHIFT’s Open Innovation Challenges and increase awareness of UCL’s engagement with SHIFT’s sustainability initiatives, targeting a UCL student and staff audience. As a result, there was increased awareness of sustainable fashion and material innovations among a diverse audience of UCL students across disciplines. The students who developed this project include: Carly Schwarz, Eva Bruno, Hermione Chan and Maya Checchi.

We then had a presentation from previous participants in SHAPE from the 2022-22 cohort, University of Wolverhampton, who outlined the growth of their project since last year and the impact their project has had. Their project was titled 'Project Future Focus - Mental Health and Wellbeing in Wolverhampton' which aimed to provide support for young people in Wolverhampton by collaborating with Base25. We were joined by Kyla-Shanice Barnes-Yates, Berlind Zaheri (and baby) and Emma King.

The final presentations of the conference were delivered by two groups from University of Bedfordshire. The first group titled their project ‘Connecting with Luton: Belonging and Community’. They aimed to integrate new students to Luton and connect locals with newcomers through establishing connections and creating a sense of belonging. They did this by facilitating opportunities for orientation and community engagement through 6 guided walks and a 95-minute workshop. The students who developed this project include: Irina Balanoiu, Youssef Kamy, Stefania Mitea and Beatrice Muscalu.

Last but not least, the final group titled their project ‘Wellbeing, cultural diversity and educational transitions: Developing a resource pack for international students’. They aimed to investigate what issues/differences international students have encountered when moving to a British educational system; explore the approaches that students have adopted to overcome some of the cultural and education barriers that they have encountered; and develop a resource pack, including a video, to support future students settle into their student life in the UK. The students who developed this project include Sabrina da Silva Caires, Anna Cringus, Md Mamur Billah and Alexandra Intuneric.

To wrap up the day, we were kindly joined by Georgina Endfield (British Academy) who gave closing remarks about the importance of the SHAPE disciplines in tackling sustainability challenges and commended the students on the complexity of the projects and their hard work throughout the duration of the project.

Students were asked for some general reflections about participating in SHAPE this year. Here are some quotes:

The SHAPE Sustainability Impact Project honed my interdisciplinary collaboration skills. The project team comprised students from museums and heritage development, history, heritage, and global cultures. Through the discussions, we had different perspectives on problem-solving. The project also honed my time management skills, as I had to divide tasks to ensure they were completed on time.

[The project] has helped me build my employability skills and boosted my confidence.

Quote from a staff member:

The greatest benefit to this project has been the increase in student confidence that has arisen through taking part. We have a large community of international students who undertake postgraduate study at our university and this project has provided the cross-course collaboration and partnership work that has seen students not only develop outreach skills but also learn how to present information and develop their public speaking.

We would like to thank all the students, institutional leads, previous participants, guest speakers and University of Birmingham’s Guild of Students who made the SHAPE project and final 2-day conference a success. We'd also like to extend a special thank you to our partners, The British Academy, for their invaluable support with such an incredible project and opportunity for students and institutions.

If SHAPE Sustainability Impact Projects sounds like something you'd like your institution to get involved in, please email Kedijah.EavesOConnor@sos-uk.org for further information or keep an eye out on our social media and website during the 2024 autumn term.