GSDC Student Competition
Bangkok, 10-14 June 2024
We offered two students the chance to attend the Times Higher Education Global Sustainable Development Congress (GSDC) in Bangkok, Thailand from 10-14 June 2024.
Competition entrants had the chance to have a seat at the table with our international partners and contribute to UNSW’s achievement of the UN’s SDGs as part of our delegation to Bangkok.
Read on to find out more about the two winning students and how their studies are related to global progress, societal impact and sustainability.
Competition winners
Anil Babu (He/Him)
Second year student
Master of Environmental Management
Attending 'Roundtable: Water, energy, and food goals post 2030: Can carbon be the currency to a just world?'
I entered the competition to take part in the GSDC as I want to contribute my recommendations of integrating traditional ecological knowledge to water, energy and food, and carbon strategies in addressing global inequality, with the aim of building a knowledge database which would help transform the agriculture industry to be more sustainable.
Students have always been a powerful community that finds creative ideas and solutions to tackle global challenges. Therefore, they play an integral role in sustainable development and in progressing the SDGs.
My Environmental Management course is a transdisciplinary program that deals with various topics directly relevant to the SDGs. It includes courses ranging from philosophy, conservation, traditional knowledge and social justice, to practical and technical courses that involve sustainability reporting standards, impact assessments and so on.
I am most excited about gaining exposure to the engaging discussions at the events led by the UNSW team and the opportunity to network with the experts in the field of the SDGs.
Charlotte Cadman (She/Her)
Fourth year student
Bachelor of City Planning (Honours)
Attending 'Workshop: The last urban migration and a post-SDG agenda for cities: What do we measure and for whom?'
My passion for contributing to protecting and saving our planet from the multitude of knock-on effects human consumption has created led me to a degree in city planning. I began my degree with a strong sense of wanting to alter the course of our urban environments for the better. When I heard about this student competition, I felt it was a great first step towards tackling climate change on a global scale.
As I begin my honours thesis, which focuses on the socioeconomic implications of formal land title disparities for communities residing on the periphery of metropolitan cities, themes of sustainable development, urban migration, overpopulation, and social unity are at the forefront of my mind.
The task now is for industry professionals to come together and ensure the transition into a highly urbanised world is done sustainably, social resilience is supported and the city is able to support intergenerational and socioeconomic equity.
My future career goals are to work in countries across the globe, helping their cities continue to sustainably adapt to climate change and become stronger, resilient urban environments. I am looking forward to hearing from the world-leading experts on these topics at the GSDC!
About the competition
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The GSDC will bring together 3000 global thought leaders and innovators to discuss urgent solutions to the sustainability emergency. Challenging the usual thinking on what higher education, governments, businesses and society must do to help society meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the congress is a call to action for global universities and businesses to pivot their educational, research, innovation and outreach programmes towards tangible outcomes.
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The winners will attend the two UNSW-hosted events, alongside partners from across the Asia Pacific, and be a contributing participant in the event for which they are selected based on their competition response:
- Roundtable on Water, Energy, and Food Goals post 2030: Carbon can be the Currency to a Just World (co-hosted with the United Nations Development Coordination Office – Region of the Asia Pacific)
- Workshop on The Last Urban Migration and a post-SDG agenda for Cities: What do we measure and for whom?
For more information on each of UNSW's events, see below.
Our students play a fundamental role in the contributions that UNSW makes to the community, the region and the world. As the future leaders that will be most impacted by the decisions made at the highest levels of government and business today, UNSW believes students need to take part in these conversations as we work to develop solutions with our partners.
The winners are welcome to attend the rest of the GSDC sessions outside of these two events, and may be invited to more 'student specific' events by the organisers, Times Higher Education.
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- Roundtable: Water, Energy, and Food Goals post 2030: Carbon can be the Currency to a Just World
The increasing global population requires more water, energy, and food (WEF) with minimum impact. Urgent focus is needed on the development of efficient renewable energy pathways for low/middle-income countries.
Sustainable development will require the alignment of global CO2 emission pathways with WEF goals post-2030, rather than impel unjust choices between carbon and WEF strategies. The path forward for WEF systems must build on traditional knowledge and capacity.
Co-hosted by UNSW and the United Nations Development Coordination Office – Region of the Asia Pacific, this 60-minute roundtable discusses lessons and approaches that align both WEF and carbon strategies in addressing global inequality.
- Workshop: The Last Urban Migration and a post-SDG agenda for Cities: What do we measure and for whom?
The Asia Pacific is home to almost half the world’s population. The region’s growing youth demographic and burgeoning middle class exemplify the rapid socioeconomic and demographic shifts that constantly reshape cities. There is urgency around enabling city systems to transition at pace to respond to complex legacies of settlement, marginalisation and neglect.
This 90-minute workshop will bring together practitioners, scholars, and those with lived experience from across the region to draw out priorities for a post-SDG agenda for cities. It will explore key stressors through the lens of intergenerational equity, Indigenous knowledge, policy drivers and the role of measurement that matters.
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The prize includes:
- Return flights from Sydney to Bangkok
- Accommodation for the duration of the GSDC
- Airport transfers in Bangkok
- Some meals (breakfast is included in the accommodation and lunches are available at the GSDC)
- GSDC conference ticket.
For full details of inclusions, see the competition terms & conditions.
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To be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:
- Be 18 years old by 1 June 2024
- Be a current student enrolled in a UNSW degree (undergraduate or postgraduate)
- Able to travel to Bangkok, Thailand during the specified travel period (see important dates below)
- If you are enrolled in a PhD or masters, you will need your supervisor's approval to submit an application.
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After reading the event details on this page and the competition terms & conditions, submit your application via the webform below.
The webform will ask you to identify which event/s you would like to attend, outline why you think the focus is important and how you think you can contribute to the topics discussed.
- Roundtable on Water, Energy, and Food Goals post 2030: Carbon can be the Currency to a Just World (co-hosted with the United Nations Development Coordination Office – Region of the Asia Pacific)
- Workshop on The Last Urban Migration and a post-SDG agenda for Cities: What do we measure and for whom?
Students can enter to take part in one or both UNSW events.
Entries are open to all current UNSW students, until Sunday 14 April 11:59pm.
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Competition entries close - Sunday 14 April 11:59pm
Travel Start Date - 9 June 2024
GSDC Start Date - 10 June 2024
GSDC End Date - 13 June 2024
Travel End Date - 14 June 2024
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The competition operations team will review the application forms received and shortlist candidates for the roundtable and workshop based on their assessment of, among other things:
- the quality of the candidate’s responses;
- relevance of the candidate’s ideas and proposed contributions to the candidate’s chosen event;
- the potential impact of attendance for the candidate (i.e. alignment with the candidate’s chosen career); and
- no use of AI in the response, as reported by an UNSW AI detection tool.
The shortlisted candidates will be asked to attend an interview with a selection committee (comprising the Director of the Institute for Global Development, the SDG Steering Committee Chair, the GSDC roundtable lead and the GSDC workshop lead).
Candidates will be assessed on their:
- communication skills;
- understanding of the GSDC, in particular their chosen event and the key issues to be discussed at the GSDC; and
- ability to articulate their position and views on key issues.
The selection committee will select two students for final endorsement by the Dean and Head of School, and those students will then be announced as the Winners of the GSDC Student Delegate Competition.
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Winners will be expected to submit a reflection statement on their experience of the GSDC and the specific UNSW event they are selected to contribute to, and take part in a video interview describing their experience, to be hosted on UNSW websites and used in UNSW communication channels.
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Please email EDIComms@unsw.edu.au.
