Could you address a Sustainability Challenge?
University of Manchester is collaborating with the British Academy and Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS UK) to demonstrate the importance of the arts, humanities and social sciences in tackling sustainability challenges through their SHAPE Sustainability Impact Projects.
We're seeking passionate students (undergraduate or postgraduate) to take part in developing impactful solutions addressing local sustainability challenges. This is a unique opportunity to boost your employability, tap into key networks within arts and humanities, and social sciences, and connect with other students all while making a positive difference. Students will work in interdisciplinary groups from October 2026 to end of February 2027 and present their final proposals at an in-person conference in March 2027. *SHAPE stands for Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts for People and the Economy and includes subjects such a Business, Marketing, English, History, Geography, Law, Finance, Media, Journalism, Sociology, Psychology, Performing Arts, Visual Arts and Design.
The project has the expected time commitment of at least one day a month (flexible around your studies).
Why should you take part?
This is a fantastic opportunity for you to:
- Address a regional sustainability issue
- Develop your green skills in a unique real world learning opportunity;
- Attend and present at an in-person conference, where you will meet students and academics from other universities and the British Academy, as well as local decisionmakers and leaders (all expenses covered);
- Develop a range of green skills valued by employers including critical and systems thinking, problem solving, time management, project management, leadership, and more;
- Network with interdisciplinary students and staff across the University of Manchester, SOS UK, The British Academy and other North West Universities;
- Contribute to the project flexibly around your studies and other commitments;
- Receive training and bespoke support;
- Earn a digital badge and certificate for your participation in the programme.
The three challenges are (these are broad challenge areas, you will focus the research):
1) Student Waste - There is a weekend every year when ~8000 students leave Manchester leaving behind somewhere in the region of 9tonnes of waste. Some of this is rubbish, some of it is recyclable, some of it is preloved which could have a new life. Every year there are news paper headlines about the state of ginnels (that's Manchester for alleyways), fly tipping and general disarray and complaints from non-student neighbours who live within the mess. There are knock on implications for students who arrive to houses that have full and smelly bins. We have influence over our University Halls but less so in privately rented accommodation. We have tried lots of initiatives (which we can share) but this is a classic 'wicked problem' that affects Universities the world over. How can we support a more responsible student move?
This project will be supported by colleagues from Manchester City Council, University of Manchester Social Responsibility and Manchester Student Homes.
2) Green skills through community gardening - It is well recognised that engagement with nature and green space is a 'good thing' for biodiversity, for physical and mental health and increasingly for climate resilience and food growing during a cost of living crisis. There are lots of community gardening initiatives across the North West of England and particularly in Manchester. How might enagage with community gardening enhance green skills awareness and transition to a greener, healthier and fairer Manchester? How can we capture the 'value' of green skills learning?
This project will be supported by colleagues from CyanLines (https://cyanlines.com/) and an academic from the University of Manchester
3) Accessible sustainability messages - In effort to make sustainability learning more accessible we have built two bitesize learning courses, one as an introduction to sustainability, another about air pollution with Manchester City Council and UNESCO. How do we get these learning opportunities to the people who would most benefit from them? How can we make accessible sustainability learning genuinely accessible?
This project will be supported by Manchester City Council and UNESCO City of Lifelong Learning and Prof Jennifer O'Brien
How it works
Participants will work on this real-world problem in an interdisciplinary group from October 2026 to end of February 2027, with support from University staff and Early Career Researchers from the British Academy.
There will also be opportunities to network with other students from University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University, who will be working on other sustainability projects.
Participants will be invited to a launch event at the University of Liverpool on 21 October (with travel funded), and present their final proposals at an in-person conference at the University of Salford in March 2027. Ideally at least one person from each group will attend the launch event. The project has the expected time commitment of at least one day a month (flexible around your studies).
Complete this form to apply. The deadline to apply is 12noon on Tuesday 6th October. Successful applicants will be informed on 7th October.
Making a Difference: Upcycled lanyards
Your conference lanyard could make a difference.
For a recent conference, twenty three unwanted, unusuable University t-shirts were braided into 200 lanyards. This has saved ~161kg of carbon from going to landfill (Carbonfact, 2025) and removed the need to buy new lanyards. Traditional lanyards are often made from synthetic materials like polyester or nylon, which are derived from petroleum. These materials are not biodegradable and contribute to plastic waste. We tend to buy new lanyards for each conference; we wear them once, throw them away (or add them to the collection hanging off the filing cabinet, THEN throw them away!). Our lanyards are reusable - so please don’t take them home. They can be washed. You are welcome to borrow them for your own conference, or workshop, free of charge, just message Jen (jennifer.obrien@manchester.ac.uk). Some notice is appreciated.
161kg of carbon is about the equivilant of driving 20 miles. It isn’t huge but it is a notable saving, especially when you consider that the lanyards can be reused again and again. They are also an excellent conversation starter.
Many thanks the the most wonderful Libby Allen who had this brainwave and to the many lovely people who have braided. Small actions do add up.
Our Guide for More Sustainable Giveaways has some great suggestions to reduce unnecessary carbon- we were very proud to contribute to this research through our upcycling. #notimetowaste.
Introducing our first mission….Scrap Wrap!
Scrap Wrap started by playing with old fabric cut offs - or scraps- that were stitched into material wrapping paper -or wraps - for the Japanese art of Furoshiki- hence Scrap Wrap.
With some funding from the Faculty of Science and Engineer’s ‘Better Worlds’ initiative, the project has grown. With the incredible talent from our Textiles students we are breathing new life into discarded T-shirts otherwise destined for landfill. Through cutting, knotting, and sewing, these T-shirts are transformed into a variety of useful items such as reusable material wrapping ‘paper’, tote bags, gift bags, hair ties – even pet clothes! This initiative not only promotes sustainability by reducing waste but also fosters creativity and practical skills whilst shaping University approaches to sustainable procurement and opening important sustainability discussions.
We were excited to host a workshop at the Institute of Teaching and Learning conference on Wednesday 25th June, 2024 (far right image) where delegates learn about and participated in this exciting upcycling process.
Check back for updates on our progress and the impact of this project, including the carbon saved. We look forward to sharing the amazing creations from our community.
By Rani Zhang, BSc Fashion Retail and Scrap Wrap project team.
Scrap Wrap and UoM Sport
We really appreciate the support of UoM Sport. Due to the way Sport used to buy their kit there was a significant amount left over. Some of it was new but had the old supplier logo, some of it was used but no longer needed. With the support of the University we were able to donate the new kit to partners through Team Rwanda and our Equity and Merit scholars. Old kit has been given a new lease of life through bunting that will be used by the University for the Community Festival and sports teams for their fundraising events (offsetting the need to buy new). UoM Sport are really invested in sustainability. We look forward to working with them more in the future.
Scrap Wrap and Dentists!
We love a challenge! And this one came in the shape of 60 dental scrubs. UoM Dentistry have changed the colour of the Undergraduate dental scrubs so these are no longer needed. We worked with Dr. Darragh Downey who suggested we turn the scrubs into small bags which will be used by dental students when they go on outreach. Dental students offer support to communities near and far around dental hygiene and education. The scrubs are being turned into bags which will contain the toothbrushes and toothpaste they give out. Our talented dental students will even decorate them to make them to add a personal touch. We have designed the protype but will need to seek more funding before we can make them at great scale - any ideas welcome!
