Students at the University of Birmingham offered programme of practical learning opportunities to overcome sustainability challenges
University of Birmingham Green Week 2025
Students at the University of Birmingham are being given opportunities to develop as climate leaders through a programme of internships, placements and volunteering in the field of sustainability.
The University prides itself on offering real-world learning and research opportunities for our students, so that they can feel empowered to become sustainability leaders and create positive change.
Professor Julia Myatt, Director of Sustainability Education, said:
“The University prides itself on offering real-world learning and research opportunities for our students, so that they can feel empowered to become sustainability leaders and create positive change. We want to ensure our graduates have the knowledge, skills and tools to lead change, and to bring a breadth of perspective and expertise to a challenging area that crosses social, economic and environmental boundaries.
"We are continuing to develop an exciting programme of internships and work experience placements for our student community to get involved in throughout the next academic year, and we look forward to seeing what they achieve.”
The Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action (BISCA) hosted 20 six-week paid internships for non-graduating undergraduate students. These posts supported students to get involved with some of the university’s globally recognised research groups and directly contribute to tackling real-life sustainability challenges.
These internships have enabled students to publish research papers, collect pilot data to support successful grant applications, and secure work after graduation. Yara Ali, a third-year BA Sociology student, undertook a Project Management and Sustainability Internship with BISCA where she supported the implementation of a new sustainability strategy in the School of Education.
On completion of her internship, Yara said: “My internship with the Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action has given me valuable experience in sustainability strategy, project planning, and stakeholder engagement. These insights are helping me grow as a leader, and I’m eager to apply them in my future career”.
The Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR), together with Careers Network offered 30 two-week paid internships. The BIFoR FACE facility, located in Staffordshire, is one of the world’s largest climate change experiments and which helps advance our understanding of how forests respond to environmental changes.
Students could get involved in a arrange of opportunities and activities, such as:
Aniqa Hussain, a third-year BSc Human Sciences student, supported the delivery of a series of workshops aimed at A-Level students where they discussed and developed solutions to climate issues, before they presented at the Future Forests Summit. Take a look at Aniqa’s vlog to see what she got up to on her internship.
The University’s Sustainability Team in Professional Services offered a part-time, 3-month placement to provide final-year students the chance to apply their academic skills to an impactful project.
Molly Hobson, who has now graduated with a BSc Environmental Science, took part in the Green Impact Lab Accreditation Scheme. Laboratories are resource-intensive spaces and implementing a framework to reduce resources is important. In this position, Molly worked with the Head of Sustainability and the Green Impact team to embed sustainability into research practices across the University and foster a culture of environmental responsibility among staff and students. By the end of the summer, over 200 laboratory teams were green lab accredited.
Upon completion of her internship, Molly said: “I have loved being involved in this project- it has introduced me to multiple stakeholders and provided me with a deeper understanding of how the university operates. I now look forward to seeing the long-term impact of this initiative and how it shapes the university’s sustainability journey.
"This placement has been an incredibly rewarding experience, allowing me to apply my academic knowledge in a real-world setting while contributing to meaningful change in how the university approaches sustainability in research environments. It has strengthened my CV and developed key skills I feel were invaluable in attaining my Graduate Scheme role post university."
Throughout the year, both undergraduate and postgraduate students have undertaken research project assistant roles and contributed to centrally supported projects. These include research in areas such as sustainability education, sustainable practices in academic research, and supporting the provision of the Reimagine our Future competition in collaboration with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
As part of the Reimagine project support role, Bethan Jones, now graduated with a BSc Liberal Arts and Sciences (Sustainability), developed workshops to support students in creating their ideas and integrating the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She also worked closely with the team in Illinois, supporting with social media post creation, the development of interactive quizzes to support student learning and undertaking surveys to support future cycles of the competition.
More information about sustainability internships and how to apply for the 2025/26 academic year will be available soon. Current students can sign up to the Student Sustainability Hub for more information about all of these opportunities and more throughout the year.
Students and staff can also get involved with sustainability through volunteering, for example for BIFoR, the Birmingham River Champions and Grow with Joe, and in roles such as Green Impact auditors and as Sustainability Champions.
Find out how to get involved with sustainability initiatives at the University, and read the 2024/5 Sustainability in Focus Report to learn about our sustainability journey.
Notes for editors:
Professor in Collaborative Education
Professor Julia Myatt's research interests include morphology-behaviour-habitat interfaces in non-human great apes and the collective behaviour of group-living animals
