Sustainable Business Challenge

Are you interested in sustainability? Do you have great ideas or an entrepreneurial mindset? Do you want to work alongside students from other countries to be in with a chance of pitching your ideas directly to the UN? Apply to join the Sustainable Business Challenge taking place online from 14-18 March 2024!

About the Challenge

The Sustainable Business Challenge is a cross-university initiative bringing together students from 6 universities (Newcastle University, University of Bath, University of Groningen, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Cape Town and University of Pretoria) to work on a real-world sustainability challenge.

Participants will work in cross-university, inter-disciplinary teams to develop a solution to this year’s challenge, proposed by the United Nations SDG Action Campaign and Action for Sustainable Development. The event will run entirely online and no prior business knowledge or experience is required to take part.

Ongoing support is available throughout the challenge and the sessions and resources have been designed to enable you to work flexibly with your team around your studies and other commitments. Key activities include:

Participants who join in all aspects of the challenge will receive a certificate and the winning team will be invited to deliver their pitch during a live, online meeting with the UN!

Why participate?

• Take part in a unique and authentic opportunity to propose ideas which could be implemented by the UN SDG Action Campaign and Action for Sustainable Development.
• Develop a wide range of key employability skills such as problem-solving, adaptability, creativity, resilience, commercial awareness, remote team working and presentation skills.
• Build your personal and professional networks and have lots of fun along the way!
• Get 1 extracurricular ECTS in your Diploma!

Elisa Claps, team member of the winning team 2023:

"Our proposal for the Sustainable Business Challenge was to institutionalize national SDGs Student Teams, made up of different committees each focusing on a group of SDGs. This would be an opportunity for students to meet and organize events for their peers such as pub quizzes or guest lectures, to discuss and/or take action toward the SDGs!

I’m very happy with our proposal and pitch, and the way the international team contributed to it! I found the challenge very engaging, fast-paced but a great opportunity to meet other passionate peers, to practice innovative thinking and pitching, and of course to further explore the UN SDGs."

Organised by: UCG Guidance - for questions, email academicadvisor.ucg rug.nl