Soumya Sharma, Safia Irfan and Mehseen Ullah travelled to Leeds for the Student Sustainability Research Conference 2024 to present on the Cavendish Living Lab and how their research contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The conference took place on Wednesday 6 March 2024 in Parkinson Court at the University of Leeds. It brought together students, staff, partners, collaborators and members of the public to hear from students about the broad range of undergraduate and postgraduate research on sustainability.
Sharma, Irfan and Ullah presented the work of the Cavendish Living Lab, explaining how the research contributes to the SDGs. The group focused particularly on their urban food growing strand and how they use food waste generated at the University of Westminster to make materials such as bioplastic.
The team also spoke about their outreach activities and how they have been garnering attention through social media, their website and through their presentations at various student sustainability events, such as the London Student Sustainability Conference 2024, which took place earlier this year.
While in Leeds, Sharma, Irfan and Ullah were able to listen to students from other universities – particularly those based in the north of England - and be inspired by the projects that their peers are working on. There was a panel discussion, talks and a selection of stalls where students could network with various organisations about sustainability research.
About the day, Soumya Sharma, who working towards her PhD in Biology through Westminster's School of Life Sciences, said: “I was very proud to present our work as part of the Cavendish Living Lab at the University of Leeds. These opportunities not only help us to refine our communication and engagement skills, but they also motivate us to strive for excellence. We had an audience that actively participated, which was truly encouraging. Hearing from other living labs was very inspiring and gave us new perspectives on our research.”
Irfan, who is on Westminster's Biochemistry BSc Honours course, added: “Attending the Student Sustainability Research Conference and representing the Living Lab in Leeds was so exciting. The Yorkshire universities place a lot of emphasis on sustainability education, and it was so inspiring to have a look at all the awareness they are raising and wildlife volunteering initiatives they have, as well as share with them what we do on our London campus. I feel like presenting can be a bit daunting, but my confidence has improved from giving such talks, and the response and opportunity for collaboration is always so rewarding.”
Ullah, who is studying Biological Sciences BSc Honours at Westminster, echoed this sentiment, saying: “I loved being able to share our knowledge with others at the conference as well as learn from them about what we can do to improve sustainability. It really opened my eyes to how many global problems come under the theme of sustainability, and it has inspired me to improve my own lifestyle and become even more eco-friendly.”
Attending the conference contributed towards all of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were adopted by the University of Westminster to help make the University a more sustainable, responsible and inclusive place to live, work and study.
Find out more about the work of the Cavendish Living Lab.
Find out more about Sustainable Development at the University of Westminster.
