When it comes to finding the next ‘big idea’ around sustainability, Western wanted to tap its greatest resource.
“We have wonderful research expertise on campus, and we have expertise in the city, which we partner with as well,” said Silke Nebel, a Research Development and Services consultant with Western. “But, most importantly, we have a whole army of students with wonderful, creative ideas. Our students are an untapped resource when it comes to sustainability.”
Launched today, Western’s Ideas for Sustainability and the Environment (WISE) competition asks students to come up with innovative and high-impact ideas to reduce – or even eliminate – some of today’s most pressing environmental concerns. In its inaugural year, the competition aims to generate ideas and initiatives among Western’s students around the topic of sustainability, and officially recognize the winning ideas.
“Western’s Strategic Plan includes a commitment to embracing the principles and practices of an environmentally sustainable campus,” said Gitta Kulczycki, vice-president (resources and operations) and President’s Advisory Committee on Environment and Sustainability (PACES) co-chair. “We also want to provide our graduates with the knowledge and skills required to lead and succeed in our global economy. An emerging area of critical importance is sustainability.
“What better way to engage the enthusiasm, intellect and keen interest of our students than to launch this competition. I look forward to the great ideas that will, no doubt, emerge.”
The competition’s goals align with Western’s commitment to the Council of Ontario Universities Statement on Creating a Sustainable Environment, Nebel said. The competition also aligns with the thinking of a whole new generation of students.
“The ‘greenness’ of the campus has become a major factor in young people choosing what university they are going to attend,” Nebel said. “It’s exciting to see that mindset changing, to see this is becoming important to the next generation of students.”
For WISE, undergraduate and graduate students – either as individuals or in teams – compete in different categories. Over the course of three months, students are encouraged to identify a current environmental problem faced at the institutional, local or global level, and highlight their idea(s) for mitigating this problem. Social and economic considerations must be included.
Beyond that, there are no limits besides imagination.
“At the end of the day, we want to foster ideas with this competition,” Nebel said. “To do that, we wanted to impose as few rules as necessary to generate as many ideas as possible.Climate change is a global problem, and we didn’t want to limit students’ thinking. The important aspect is that the idea can be realistically implemented.”
Nebel stressed judges are looking for ideas on what needs to be done, how it could be done, how much it will cost/save and what the expected outcomes are.
Students have until Jan. 5 to file their one-page pre-proposal (electronic submission to wise.competition@uwo.ca). A selection committee will review the submissions. The committee is comprised of Engineering professor and dean Andrew Hrymak, Ivey Business School professor Caroline Flammer and Biology professor Brent Sinclair, all representing the faculty; and Beverley Ayeni, Energy & Environment manager, and Nebel, representing the staff.
The 20 best entries (10 each from the undergraduate and graduate categories) will be invited to submit a full eight-page proposal. On Feb. 2, the 10 best entries (five from each competition) will be invited to make a five-minute presentation to the selection committee.
Winners will be announced at the Western Green Awards Ceremony in late March/early April. First place winners in each category will receive $1,500; second place, $1,000; and third place, $500.
The contest draws its prize money – and, perhaps in the future some implementation money – from a student sustainability fund created by the PACES. That group, charged with overseeing Western’s sustainability mission, made that fund a priority in its inaugural action plan.
“The idea of the fund,” Nebel said, “is to reward ideas – great ideas.”
In the future, Nebel said, the fund may expand into an opportunity for faculty and staff to contribute ideas. However, student engagement in sustainability is the main point right now.
As for this contest, Nebel has hopes for sustainability for the sustainable ideas winners.
“I would love to see winners this year where we can show this contest made an impact,” she continued. “I would like to say next year, when we have this contest, that as a result of this contest we now have Project A, B and C that we didn’t have before. That, I think, would be quite an incentive to participate.”