Westminster students tackle climate change at London Student Sustainability Conference 2024

The London Student Sustainability Conference (LSSC) is student-led and is coordinated by ten London-based universities including the University of Westminster. In its sixth year, it gave students from across the capital the chance to present their work that holds sustainability at its core. Those who attended got the chance to broaden their knowledge of the challenges and solutions to today’s most critical issues and network with other students, academics and professionals from universities across London.

Three Westminster groups were chosen to give a presentation on their projects at this year’s LSSC. One of the groups presented their work on the Cavendish Living Lab, a project which holds authentic learning, sustainability and employability at its core. The project has seen Westminster students and academics cultivate greens hydroponically on their Central London campus, using food waste from the onsite catering facilities and donating their produce to Euston Foodbank.

The students in the group are Nadezda Zelve, Angie Arias Trujillo, Jessica Mbakwe, Laura Onyemem-Benedict, Safia Irfan, Soumya Sharma and Mehseen Ullah, who spoke to BBC Radio London about the initiative in 2023. The project has been supported by Dr Pooja Basnett, Dr Linda Percy and Dr Dipankar Sengupta.

The group have also been invited to present their work at the Student Sustainability Research Conference 2024 at Leeds University on 6 March.

Another project was created and presented by Westminster Marketing Management BA Honours student Bilal Bentchakal, whose project titled From Ghostnets to Shoe Laces: Weaving a Path to Sustainability, sets out how to create shoe laces from abandoned fishing nets.

The final group also created a project around these damaging fishing nets, also known as ghost nets. The project titled Hang Sustainably, Nap Comfortably - NetNaps: Hammocks Crafted from Ghostnets, was created and presented by Ester D’Alterio, Alexandra Simion, Vasviye Topril and Angela Doycheva, and brought forward the idea of recycling them to create waterproof hammocks.

Three Westminster students also had the chance to display their posters to inform attendees about other ideas that can be used to tackle specific climate issues. One titled Sustainable Antiviral/Antimicrobial Coatings for Medical Implants and Prosthetics, was created by Soumya Sharma and highlighted the need for antiviral and antimicrobial coatings on surfaces to work as a sustainable method of stopping the spread of bacteria.

Another poster was Corkey – A Sustainable Phone Case, created by Westminster students María José Molina, Alara Binat and Asmita Agrawal. The poster advertised using recycled cork from wine bottles to create sustainable phone cases to stop people buying plastic ones that end up being dumped in landfill.

The final Westminster poster was about sustainability issues in San Francisco and was created by Andrezza Capstick. The poster outlined the issues facing San Francisco, such air pollution and homelessness, and highlighted the causes of these problems.

Nadezda Zelve, a second-year Biomedical Sciences BSc Honours student taking part in the Cavendish Living Lab project, said: “Participating in the London Student Sustainability Conference was an amazing experience for multiple reasons. It allowed me to share the work of the Cavendish Living Lab project and learn more about research carried out by other students from various universities. I was able to develop valuable soft skills such as public speaking, teamwork and time management, enhancing my professional development. And of course, it was great to have a chance to connect with like-minded people who share a passion for sustainability.”

Morgan Lirette, Sustainable Development Advisor at Westminster, said: “The London Student Sustainability Conference is a highlight of our Sustainability Team calendar. We had a great Westminster turnout this year, and we’re incredibly pleased and proud of our students who presented their research and projects. Co-organising the Conference with ten other London universities is rewarding, but seeing the students come together across the capital in the name of the UN Sustainable Development Goals really foregrounds SDG 17 Partnership for the Goals.”

Dr Pooja Basnett, Senior Lecturer and the Co-Course Leader for Biological Sciences BSc Honours, added: “I attended the London Student Sustainability Conference for the first time this year and it was an incredible experience. I think it is a great platform for students to come together and share their sustainability focused projects. My students presented our Cavendish Living Lab journey with such passion and confidence and I am so proud of them. Looking forward to more opportunities in the future to continue promoting sustainability and learning from each other.”

This conference contributed toward a range of development goals of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable 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.

Read the University of Westminster’s Sustainable Development Goals report.

Find out more about Sustainable Development at the University of Westminster.