Creating lifelong influencers
Our students
Our students are influencers and ambassadors of change, who will have the biggest impact on the industry. We strive to bring sustainability and the climate crisis into students’ experience at UCEM, both within and alongside their programme.
It is important to us that our students have ample opportunity to champion, critique, and advocate for positive change here at UCEM, here are a few examples of this:
Student Officers for Sustainability
Advocating for change
Here at UCEM we have four Student Officers for Sustainability to champion the student voice, to encourage students to engage with sustainability and to challenge the university. Our Student Officers are supported by staff to collaborate and lead on issues related to sustainability (social and environmental).
Our Student Officers for Sustainability for 2024/25:
Kian Bruney
BSc Quantity Surveying
Jake Wright
BSc Quantity Surveying (apprenticeship)
Velile Sibanda
MBA Construction and Real Estate
John Owor
MSc Quantity Surveying
Students can connect with our Student Officers via the Sustainability Forum, Sustainability WhatsApp Group or Sustainability LinkedIn Group. Alternatively, email sustainability@ucem.ac.uk.
The Officers are supported by Jessica Gordon-Calvert, UCEM’s sustainability education & engagement officer.
We have other Student Officer roles that support our Access and Participation Plan, and Widening Participation Strategy for work. For more details, please email outreachandinclusion@ucem.ac.uk.
Student and alumni initiatives
Providing opportunities to connect and inspire
Students and alumni can get involved in campaigns, events and initiatives covering a range of sustainability themes and are encouraged to share their experiences, and engage in conversation about sustainability and the climate crisis.
Our schedule for 2024/25
| Month | Topic |
| September | Sustainability at UCEM and the built environment |
| October | Climate and Social Action Week 1 (21-25 October) |
| November | COP29 |
| February | Student and alumni voice |
| March | Sustainability at UCEM and the built environment |
| April | Climate and Social Action Week 2 (21-25 April) |
| May | Student Officer and Responsible Futures 2025/26 |
| July | A year of sustainability at UCEM |
Climate and social action weeks
Here at UCEM, we have two Climate and Social Action (CASA) weeks per year, bringing together our community of students, staff, and networks to discuss, raise awareness, and share knowledge on climate change and social action.
The student and staff co-created weeks have a mix of informal and formal events, such as webinars, workshops, and games spanning both the built environment and more personal sustainability topics. If you would like to get involved in our CASA Weeks or any of the sustainability initiatives, email sustainability@ucem.ac.uk.
Responsible futures
UCEM is delighted to have been awarded the Responsible Futures accreditation for the third time in June 2022, which is valid for two years until Summer 2024. The university became the first alternative provider to be awarded back in 2018, after a two-day audit carried out by UCEM students who had been trained by Students Organising for Sustainability.
We also become Host Partners for 2020/21, sharing good practice and supporting other Responsible Futures partnerships.
For 2023/24 we have a Responsible Futures Working Group to support our accreditation aims. If you’re a current student and would like to get involved, email sustainability@ucem.ac.uk.
UCEM Sustainability Research Prize
As part of our Responsible Futures accreditation and Alumni Lifelong Influencing Plan, we are offering undergraduate, postgraduate and apprenticeship students the chance to be recognised for outstanding contributions to sustainability in their final year project. Previously named the Responsible Futures Dissertation Prize, one undergraduate, one undergraduate apprenticeship, one postgraduate and one postgraduate apprenticeship will be awarded per graduation season (July and December).
Projects will be evaluated and based on (but not limited to) the following criteria by a panel of our academic team:
- Topic must be related to sustainability
- Potential for impact and/or which demonstrate creativity, originality and offer the potential for a sustainable contribution to the field
- Awarded high Merit or Distinction (postgraduate) or high upper second or first (undergraduate)
- Demonstrated collegiate and collaborative attributes throughout the project module
Winners will have the opportunity to have a project synopsis of their work produced.
Student voice
Embedding the student voice in our sustainability work
Students have multiple opportunities to feedback about their experiences of sustainability at UCEM including SOS-UK’s Skills Survey, internal experience surveys, via our Student Officers for Sustainability and the sustainability forum on the VLE.
The findings from the student and alumni surveys are used to inform sustainability activities and initiatives at UCEM.
Key stats from Skills Survey 2023-24
Think that universities and colleges should promote sustainable development
Agree that university courses should develop students’ social and environmental skills
would choose to take a £1000 salary cut to work for a company with a strong environmental and social record
Key stats from alumni survey
Alumni shared their thoughts in UCEM’s first alumni sustainability survey in summer 2022. Of 2017-2022 graduates:
think that sustainable development is a moderate to high priority for UCEM
think that social responsibility is a moderate to high priority for UCEM
reported that sustainable development issues were covered in depth (occasionally or frequently) on their course
Case studies
Sustainability and climate action comes in all shapes and sizes. UCEM has been capturing alumni stories to demonstrate the breadth and depth of sustainability from their experiences as a student and into their roles in the industry.