University of Birmingham teams were awarded prizes for ideas including tackling pharmaceutical waste and integrating climate awareness into primary education.
Students at the Reimagine Our Future competition. Image credit: Nick Robinson
Award-winning students from the University of Birmingham have created innovative ways to tackle global sustainability challenges.
These include an interactive programme to integrate sustainability education into primary schools and using wind power from transport corridors to reduce emissions.
“Our students should be extremely proud of their achievements in this year’s Reimagine Our Future competition. The creativity and commitment shown by every team, finalist and prize-winner alike is a testament to our student community.
Hosted by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), the Reimagine Our Future Competition brought together 313 students from 12 institutions worldwide, representing countries including USA, UK, Ukraine, Mexico, South Africa, China, Austria, Columbia and Italy.
Held on 7 December 2025, the competition challenged students to develop creative and practical solutions to the UN’S Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Professor Julia Myatt, Director of Sustainability Education, said:
“Our students should be extremely proud of their achievements in this year’s Reimagine Our Future competition. The creativity and commitment shown by every team, finalist and prize-winner alike is a testament to our student community and their determination to help build a more sustainable future and address global sustainability challenges.”
The University is committed to providing opportunities to all students, ensuring all graduates are equipped to be climate-conscious citizens and sustainability leaders of the future.
This year, eight teams from the University of Birmingham entered the competition from disciplines including Pharmacy, Biomedical Sciences, Biochemistry, Environmental Change and Sustainability, Mathematics, Psychology, and Political Science and International Studies.
Five of the 13 teams in the final were from the University of Birmingham, highlighting the ambition and talent of Birmingham students.
In total, four Birmingham teams earned five prizes, including two 3rd place awards and three special category award wins. This marks an increase in the number of teams that reached the final and received prizes, compared to 2025 which saw three teams reach the final and receive special awards.
Professor Warren Lavey (UIUC, Law), co-founder of the competition, praised the students’ range of ideas and their capacity to foster hope in addressing global challenges. He also paid tribute to the late Professor Robert McKim (UIUC, Religion), whose vision helped shape the competition.
Professor Leon Liebenberg (UIUC, Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering) co-founder and coordinator of Reimagine Our Future, added that the competition gives students a platform to engage with the systems-level nature of sustainability.
The Birmingham-Illinois Partnership for Discovery, Engagement & Education (BRIDGE) was established in 2014. The collaboration delivers groundbreaking research and addresses shared global challenges. Find out more about the BRIDGE partnership.
The University of Birmingham is seeking to change society and the environment positively, and use its research and education to make a major global contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The University’s approach to sustainability education is to embed sustainability across all disciplines encouraging students to think holistically, act collaboratively, and innovate responsibly.
At Birmingham, sustainability education provides opportunities for students to develop their skills and become sustainability leaders. To find out more about how we incorporate sustainability into the curriculum and beyond, please visit our new sustainability webpages.
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
