Student Sustainability Architects

The Student Sustainability Architect programme is an innovative collaboration between staff and students to develop projects addressing specific sustainability challenges across the University and wider community. Our Architects are not volunteers, they are employed on a paid, part time basis, embedded as valuable staff members and part of our wider Sustainability Service team. They are supervised by staff teams throughout the University and work collaboratively to research, design and deliver projects that have real campus wide positive social and environmental impacts. The programme enables students to develop professional employability skills, gain valuable work experience and interact directly with University staff to initiate and influence change, using the campus as a learning resource. Since its conception in 2014, the programme has employed 18 students, who have all gone on to secure successful careers in the sustainability sector, hugely benefiting from the experience gained as Student Architects. In 2017-18 we have supported 6 architects with roles ranging from; promoting student citizenship with our community team, and working with campus catering to reduce food packaging and waste, to identifying sustainability opportunities within the curriculum. We are now expanding our programme to new staff/service teams and welcoming more students to the programme.