This year's challenge is 'The Case for Earth: Designing unprecedented action in speaking up for the planet'.
Law in Cornwall team arrange exciting Grand Challenges activity for students on the Penryn Campus
Grand Challenges is a project week, from 10 to 14 June 2019, in which students work in interdisciplinary groups with other like-minded students to design innovative solutions to real-world challenges. Top academics and invited speakers will share their views and help them apply their skills and knowledge to a real-life problem. It helps our students develop transferable skills including teamwork, presentation skills and project planning.
Our Exeter Law School in Cornwall team have pulled together an exciting range of activities for the ‘Case for Earth’ Challenge running at the Penryn Campus.
As part of the challenge, students will be asked to think up solutions to real-world Global problems. For this challenge, we have defined the problem as the lack of advocacy and representation for the Earth, both to galvanise people and produce coordinated change. So whilst the vast majority of us recognise a wealth of environmental problems some may feel overwhelmed or apathetic. Many people don’t know how to start; what works in terms of campaigning for change, either in politics, business, organisations or society; or how to be the change by creating a different kind of business model, environmental campaign or way of communicating.
Students can choose to join three enquiry groups: Highlighting Environmental Harm; Campaigning; or Pitching. They will work together throughout the week, and at the end of the week, each group will have produced an end product. For the Highlighting Environmental Harm groups will use the principles of craftivism to create beautiful objects and films which really grab the attention. For the Campaigning group, it will be a campaign that appears on campus on the 14 June. For the Pitching group, it will be a pitch that they will do to representatives of business in the late morning on the Friday in the Environment and Sustainability Institute.
Keynote speakers for the launch day (10th June ) include Natalie Bennett, former leader of the Green Party, who will talk about creating Carbon Free Cities; Hugo Tagholm Chief Executive of Surfers Against Sewage,); Stella Bell, from the leading environmental profit for purpose company Climate Care, who will talk about pitching sustainability to business; and Shane Holland, Executive Chair of Slow Food UK, who will talk about creating a grassroots movement for social change (Fresh from his TEDx ‘Architects of Tomorrow’ Talk).
University of Exeter students can sign up through the website. University of Falmouth students can sign up by emailing grandchallenges@exeter.ac.uk.
Date: 23 April 2019