King's takes a lead in the London Student Sustainability Conference 2022
King’s students co-organise and present in the London Student Sustainability Conference (LSSC) – a conference providing a platform to present student ideas for a more sustainable future.
Over 78 people from across London came together for the virtual London Student Sustainability Conference 2022 (LSSC) on Thursday 24th February, and 60 for the evening LSSC poster exhibition on Thursday 24th February. This student-led conference highlighted research and projects that aim to make the world a more sustainable place.
The conference gave a platform to 32 student presenters, 27 student poster exhibitions and workshops held by several London universities.
It is a joy to have King’s be part of the London Student Sustainability Conference. These past couple of years have been incredibly tough for our students. The power of this conference was bringing our students together to connect, share knowledge and to provide a platform for hope and progression. A sincere thank you to all students and staff involved.
President & Principal, Shitij Kapur
LSSC was founded by City, University of London in 2019. Last year was the first time LSSC had been co-hosted with another university, and this was where the collaboration between King’s and City began. This year, an impressive six London universities took part in the conference, including King’s College London. City, University of London; Imperial College London; London School of Economics; University College London and University of Westminster.
The conference was an opportunity to demonstrate our shared commitment to embedding sustainability into our education, research, leadership, operations, engagement activities and to spotlight the students who are part of this sustainability progress and all those who maintain this momentum.
We are very proud to have co-hosted the London Student Sustainability Conference with five partnering London universities this year. Sustainability is a critical issue for all of us and our students are showing the way in how to make a real, tangible difference. The conference set the stage for a collaborative approach to building a more sustainable future together. It provided a brilliant opportunity for our King’s College London students and others to showcase the research they are undertaking in this area. I’d like to thank everyone who made such a great event possible.
Professor Evelyn Welch, Senior Vice President (Service, People & Planning)
It was the first time there has been a Student Delivery Group helping to co-ordinate the conference this year. Members included Aanchal Jain, Camille Darbo, Yilin Lei, Angelina Samanya, Kshitija Mishra and Ella Rickers.
Quotes from King’s students who joined the Student Delivery Group and played a lead role in organising LSSC
My experience being on the student delivery team for LSSC22 was great. It was the first time I'd heard about the conference, and I initially thought it is a great way to communicate and celebrate work that is being done by students to help achieve the SDGs. The weekly Teams meetings really helped us to have direction for preparing a hybrid event. I was involved in a mixture of tasks from suggesting speakers for the day to raising awareness about the event on social media. On the day of the conference, I enjoyed meeting everyone, helping to set up the space and welcoming the visitors; hopefully encouraging more people to take part next year either delivering or supporting. It was also inspiring to see the London universities come together! - Angelina Samanya (School of Education, Communication & Society)
It was an amazing experience to work with like-minded people and see that we are all together to dream a change and make it happen. LSSC22 was inspiring, enlightening and above all, empowering. - Kshitija Mishra (Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy)
I am so grateful for the opportunity to attend and present at the LSSC held last Thursday. This being the first year that it was open to students outside of City University, I was not sure what to expect, and was surprised at the range of presentations delivered. After presenting my own talk on my research into SDG 13, I enjoyed listening to the diverse presentations given. Encompassing the wide range of SDGs, I gained insights into research and movements that were working to address sustainability in all forms, from sustainable textiles to the use of hydroponics in Maharashtra. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and I would strongly encourage people to get involved with it next year, whether by presenting or simply tuning in to the insightful talks. - Olivia Hall (King's Business School)
Each of the 12 LSSC sessions were mapped against the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These 17 goals cover a range of environmental and social sustainability issues and are designed to achieve a fair and just society for all by 2030. From sustainable construction to eco-feminist approaches to climate change, a diverse range of complex challenges were discussed at the conference, with innovative solutions proposed by students.
It was an absolute pleasure to speak at the LSSC 2022 and to listen to many of the presentations and workshops being delivered. The conference was powerful, deeply insightful, and accessible which allowed for full and effective engagement. Many thanks and congratulations to the organising team for hosting an incredible conference.
Ishaan Shah, LSSC student presenter (Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy)
King’s was represented at LSSC with 7 students from across the university presenting on a wide range of projects. Talks by King’s students included the extraction of lithium for electric vehicles from the ‘lithium triangle’ and the issues this brings up, Challenge of Realigning UK Domestic Policy with the Goals of the Paris Agreement, Combatting modern slavery and human trafficking, to exploring the differing use of language on Netflix in South Korea compared to the UK when marketing the hit Netflix show ‘Sex Education’.
Poster by Maimoona Junjunia (King’s Business School) - Protecting Forests: California’s best defense against wildfires and climate change.
King’s is committed to championing and embedding sustainability into our research, our education, and our operational practices right across the university. An example of this commitment in action is the King’s Climate Action Network, which is bringing staff and students together to help shape King’s net-zero carbon strategy for the university. King’s Sustainability have also developed the KEATS Sustainability & Climate module, created by students, for students, to learn more about sustainability and how sustainable issues link to their course and future careers.
King’s also aims to fulfil our commitment to positive and transformational social impact by delivering on the United Nation’s SDGs. King’s now ranks second in the People & Planet University League. Our success in delivering on the SDGs is also demonstrated through our position in the most recent Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, which uses the SDGs as a framework for measuring the broader social impact of universities. King’s was very proud to place eleventh in the world, and second in the UK, in the 2020 THE Impact Rankings, recognising the positive social, environmental and economic contributions we are making within our local, national and international communities.
Conference participants holding up SDG icons.
Projects presented by King’s students at LSSC 2022
Speak Out: Why British Netflix series “Sex Education” is called as “Otis’s secret counselling centre” in South Korea? (Jeong Yeon Cho)
The Green Enterprise Institute: Catalysing a global youth movement in corporate sustainability (Leonard Alf)
The Unsustainability of Electric Vehicles: Extraction of lithium for batteries in the “Lithium Triangle” (Livia Kappus)
Come Together: The Challenge of Realigning UK Domestic Policy with the Goals of the Paris Agreement (Olivia Hall)
Behavioural symptoms in severe dementia and environmental light: How can wearable devices improve our knowledge about dementia and quality of care? (Dr.Ta-Wei Guu)
Protecting Forests: California’s best defense against wildfires and climate change (Maimoona Junjunia)
The fight for freedom: Combatting modern slavery and human trafficking (Ishaan Shah)
