Partnerships between students and organisations for Sustainable Development through assessment

The University Living Lab applies the energy and expertise of students to real-world sustainability challenges. We develop research projects with external organisations that help them to meet their sustainability goals. Our research projects are framed with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Students address the projects as part of their core assessment. We return quality research to the organisation who set it. We welcome feedback of how the research affected change, however small. University Living Lab projects enable students to make a difference through their studies and gain key skills and experience in an accessible manner. 

What we do

Students

Rather than writing (yet) another essay, affect change for sustainable development with your University assignment. We have hundreds of projects to choose from

Organisations

We add value to your sustainable development operations through interdisciplinary student power. We welcome projects, local to global.

Educators

Our applied research works as standalone assessment in a taught unit, or our projects can be a database of inspiration for students to adapt to their assessment.

“The greatest threat to the planet is the belief someone else will save it.”

— Robert Swan

“I am a student research intern at the University of Manchester and I think that without the research skills I gained during the project I wouldn’t have been able to get this position.”

— Student studying UCIL ‘Creating a Sustainable World’, University of Manchester

“The assessment style is the best I have had yet, it challenges 21st century challenges with the learning, and lets you interact with these challenges alongside a business - learning feels useful when it is put into real-world contexts”

— Student, Governing Urban Transformations, University of Manchester