At the third annual Reimagine Our Future Sustainability Competition, excited students, faculty, and staff in Illinois and around the world participated in a dynamic and moving session hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Campaign (UIUC) on December 2, 2023.
This competition aims to inspire and empower students by challenging them to ideate solutions for a more sustainable world. Thirteen teams of students presented their projects at the award ceremony, with some urging citizens around the world to leave no one behind and others pointing to the need for consumers to drastically change their purchases.
This year, Reimagine Our Future attracted 243 students from ten higher education institutions across the world (U.S., Ukraine, Austria, Britain, China, Mexico, and South Africa) as well as in Illinois, where students from UIUC, U of I Chicago, U of I Springfield, and Waubonsee Community College took part.
Over 120 volunteers, each contributing unique expertise, served as advisors, initial judges, and final judges, highlighting the collaborative nature of the event.
A team of three students from UIUC’s Sustainable Design program in the College of Fine and Applied Arts won the top prize of $2,000. Margot O'Malley, Tom George, and Jasper Nord presented a project using coffee grounds to grow nutritious oyster mushrooms. They analyzed environmental challenges related to sending coffee grounds to landfills in terms of emitting greenhouse gases and contaminating groundwater and soil. This team recognized the interrelated problems of food insecurity and human health. The students piloted the solution and presented plans to expand the scope of their initiative.
The two second prize winners were proposals to organize organic farming in Ukraine during the war (Iryna Maistrenko, International Humanitarian University, Odessa) and to expand farm-to-school food programs in the U.S. (Charles Wheeler, Lucas Baronello, Saharra Murphy, Caila Riggs, and Michelle Check, University of Illinois at Springfield (U of I Springfield)). Each of these teams won $1,000.
Six teams with a range of projects won $500 each for third place or special awards:
- Accessible screening for preeclampsia (Arshia Ajmera and Keerthana Nallamotu, UIUC)
- Parking lot permaculture (Brandon Baran, Whitney Fowler, Shiho Ito, Ada Moy, and Gwynne McGrady, UIUC)
- Zero food waste (Karmyn Flesch, Nadia Wilson, Emily Rhodes, and Gabriela Sanchez, U of I Springfield)
- Optimizing resource efficiency by digitizing receipt processes (Manan Sanghavi, UIUC)
- Renewable energy-supported housing and opportunities for immigrants (Amy Jurkowski, Matthew Nowlan, Liesl Schrag, and Aiden Sup, UIUC)
- Sustainable development of the city through “green development” (Asadova Solmaz, International Humanitarian University, Odessa)
Professor Donna Tonini (Center for Global Studies, CGS) presented the CGS award for the best project on climate change to Manan Sanghavi for his innovative ideas on digitalizing receipt processes. In her speech, Professor Tonini praised Manan and expressed her gratitude to the Department of Education for their Title VI grant that also supported the Reimagine our Future contest.
All participants have received valuable feedback and support for their projects through judges’ comments. Moreover, the top three teams are set to benefit from additional mentorship provided by Professor Mike Yao from UIUC's College of Media and Gies Business School. This mentorship program is poised to nurture and guide the winning projects toward sustainable impact and growth.
Professor Kelvin Droegemeier, a distinguished guest speaker at the award ceremony, congratulated the finalists and emphasized the necessity of adopting a systemic view when addressing sustainability challenges. “The interconnections between societal, technological, and economic issues are crucial when pondering sustainability solutions,” he stated, advocating for a holistic approach to tackle the complex global challenges we face.
The Reimagine Our Future Sustainability Competition owes its success to the vision and commitment of its founders, Professors Leon Liebenberg, Robert McKim, and Warren Lavey, who organized the event with support from the UIUC’s Student Sustainability Council (SSC), coordinated by Codie Sterner, and a group of highly energetic student assistants. Professor Lavey highlighted the importance of sustainability extending beyond environmental considerations, emphasizing the need for empathy, particularly showcased by Ukrainian students amid ongoing conflict.
Claire Keating, chair of the SSC, served as the master of ceremonies for the awards session, underscoring the importance of collaborative efforts. The competition garnered support from various entities, including UIUC’s Center for Global Studies, Office of the Associate Chancellor and Vice Provost for Global Affairs & Strategies, Siebel Center for Design, Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and the Environment, among others, and several sponsors.
As Professor Lavey reflected on this year's competition, he emphasized the importance of considering interrelated environmental, social, and economic systems. The focus of the competition now shifts to supporting and nurturing the winning projects, with an eye on the Fall 2024 competition, which promises to be even more substantial and impactful.
If you are inspired by this competition and would like to contribute to allow talented UIUC Undergrads to keep reimagining the future, please click here.
Credit: Liebenberg Leon leonl@illinois.edu; Lavey, Warren lavey@illinois.edu
