Diverse trio of ideas look to improve campus life with competition entries
This series of articles explores the journey of the winners of the EIG Sustainable Goals Student Ideas Competition.
The EIG Sustainable Goals Student Ideas Competition is focused on inspiring students to contribute towards tackling the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as set by the United Nations. The RGU Entrepreneurship & Innovation Group (EIG) led competition aims to encourage students to take innovative, creative and proactive approaches to tackling these challenges through supporting sustainably focused early-stage business innovations while also strengthening future employability.
Sponsored by the Fundraising and Alumni Team, every month students can win cash prizes, raise their profile, give back, and be rewarded for thinking innovatively.
The March winner of EIG’s latest competition was Annabel Biddulph, an architectural technology student from the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment.
“My proposal is to create an indoor living wall in the Sir Ian Wood Building”, she said.
“Living walls have been proven to increase productivity, improve mental health, reduce noise, and they will help create better air quality too.
“This would provide many benefits to students at RGU such as helping to increase the quality of education through an area that promotes and encourages healthy working inside the Uni’. It can also be used to teach about biodiversity and how living walls operate.”
Annabel’s idea for the competition links back to her course “which heavily promotes looking into sustainability and taking care of the planet and people as much as possible when designing buildings”.
Sustainability features throughout the UN’s SDGs, something which this forward-thinking student says is “vital in the construction industry”.
Naomi Todd, a physiotherapy student from RGU’s School of Health Sciences, was one of two highly commended entries. Her idea, which also forms part of her dissertation project, centres around creating a walk-in literacy health clinic on campus in order to reduce health inequalities in the area.
Approaching the end of her degree, Naomi is already thinking about what’s coming next.
“I think eventually in my career I would like to move into policy development or perhaps have a government role in healthcare”. She entered the competition to develop her portfolio and add to her CV.
Lastly, Daniel Cordiner was the second student to earn a highly commended prize.
The School of Creative and Cultural Business media student has proposed an idea for an app to be developed that enables students with cars to offer lifts to others that also need to go to campus.
“All car drivers would have to be verified students, no points on their driving license, and no police record to ensure safety.
“The benefits of this app would include: improves wellbeing by encouraging socialisation with other students outwith their classes; minimising cars on the road by encouraging students to travel together; and helping to relieve some of the pressure on busy local buses and the wider community that use them.
“Students who sign up to the app and offer lifts could park free on campus as an incentive too.”
Daniel’s idea is another which focuses on sustainability with reducing traffic and car travel a key component to its potential success. Adding the social element of liaising with fellow students adds an additional key benefit for the University community.
His motivation for entering the competition was to ensure he continues to innovate and get involved with the different events and programmes around campus.
The EIG Sustainable Goals Student Ideas Competition is ongoing with the latest round of entries open until the end of May and winners decided thereafter.
Thanks to everyone who submits their ideas!
Image shows L-R: Annabel Biddulph and Naomi Todd.
