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Outstanding contributions to sustainability by both staff and students at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ, Leicester (²ÝÁñÊÓƵ), were celebrated at the second annual Climate Awards earlier this week.

 More than 100 people were nominated for awards in fields that stretched from healthcare, arts and culture, enterprise and engineering. The nominations reflected the wealth of research, teaching and campus innovations taking place at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ to promote sustainability.

On Tuesday the 12 December at Heritage House, as part of COP 28 at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ, staff and students gathered together to hear about the different work being undertaken to tackle climate change- followed by an awards ceremony with winners being presented awards for outstanding work.

²ÝÁñÊÓƵ United Nations Academic impact SDG hub coordinator, Jemima Duodu said: “It was wonderful to bring a community of passionate sustainability advocates together and recognise their exceptional work in ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ.

“The diversity of entries was a testament to the efforts of staff and students across all faculties in ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ. The panel had a challenge with deciding the overall winners because there is so much high quality work going on.”

The climate awards marked the end of COP28 at Dubai and the series of events taking place on campus.

²ÝÁñÊÓƵ was the only British university with a pavilion in the Blue Zone, a restricted space where the COP28 negotiations take place and brings together world leaders, Government officials, NGOs and observer organisations for panel discussions, side events, exhibits, and cultural events.

More than 20 activities took place on campus and over 500 staff, students and guests got involved.

COP28 at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ has sparked huge interest in the work of the SDG 16 Hub, including the Net Zero Football project which networks with amateur football clubs to help them reduce carbon emissions, and Project Atefa, a campaign to share the real stories of refugees and Politics for the Planet, where ideas for the environment are gathered ahead of General Elections in the US, UK, India and beyond.

Anyone wishing to get involved in any of these activities is asked to email:  dmusdg16@dmu.ac.uk

The award winners were:

1.       Energy Champion

(Research or innovations undertaken at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ to reduce energy consumption or carbon emissions)

Ahmad Taki - Professor of Building Performance and Sustainability; Director of Architecture Research Institute

2.       Climate Action Engagement Champion

(Demonstrating how staff or students have connected their work with local businesses, organisations or community groups to promote climate action)

Kyungeun Sung - Senior Lecturer in Product Design

3.       Healthcare Innovation Champion

(Research or innovations undertaken at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ to create a more sustainable healthcare system)

Yogeshvaran Ramanathapuram Nagarajan - Mechanical Engineering MSc graduate

4.       Enterprise for Climate Action

(²ÝÁñÊÓƵ student or graduate who has developed a business idea aimed at reducing climate impact)

Sitira Williams - PhD student in the School of Applied Social Sciences

5.       Climate Action in Arts and Culture

(Research in all arts, design, humanities and creative industries at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ linked to or promoting climate action)

Dr Hiu Man Chan- Senior Lecturer in Creative Industries

6.       Climate Justice Champion

(Research for climate justice, equality, decolonising, climate governance, law and human rights.)

Rosie Garton - Programme Leader Performance and Digital Arts

7.       Climate Action: Team of the Year

(Award for a group or team who have led impactful research or a campus innovation to reduce climate change)

Kevin Farrugia - Associate Professor in Forensic Chemistry

8.       Climate Innovation (open category)

(Any research, teaching or extra-curricular activity that demonstrates climate action)

Jinsong Shen- Professor of Textile Chemistry and Biotechnology

9.       Climate Action Hero (staff)

(Individual staff member recognised by others as an outstanding climate action advocate)

Christine White – Professor and Deputy Dean in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities

10.   Climate Action Hero (student)

(Individual student recognised by others as an outstanding climate action advocate)

Leena Shwashreh – Sustainable Architecture graduate and sustainability assistant

11. Partnership of the year

(A partnership recognised by others for their outstanding work with ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ)

Leticia Ozawa-Meida - Senior Research Fellow in Computing, Engineering and Media

12. Special recognition award

(An exceptional project which inspires others!)

Salimatu Kah - Senior Lecturer in Business Management