Green Gown Awards 2021: Next Generation Learning and Skills - The University of Edinburgh - HC

Students as Change Agents

Created by the University of Edinburgh Careers Service and hosted within the Data Driven Innovation programme of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland Region City Deal, Students as Change Agents (SACHA) is a co-curricular experiential idea lab that brings students from different academic disciplines and levels together to tackle real-world complex challenges linked to the UN Sustainability Goals.

Using purposefully wicked challenges set by external organisations, SACHA helps develop data and design thinking skills for students at the same time as making industry experts take a fresh look at their own sector and contributing to lasting change. This year, using online training tools and platforms, SACHA has moved at scale with over 250 student completions across three programmes with 11 different challenge partners, with groups ideating on subjects such as fashion overconsumption, fuel poverty, sustainable tourism, youth homelessness, and building a more welcoming Scotland for refugees and asylum seekers.

Top 3 learnings:

1. We can link UN SDGs to co-curricular activity with great results for students and external partners.
2. Student love being in multidisciplinary group environments working on real world challenges as it allows them to test themselves and apply their skills.
3. We can create space at University for industry to be blown away by the standard of student thought on wicked challenges.