After a phenomenally successful event in 2021, enviroSPRINT is back for 2024. enviroSPRINT is a 3-day online hack event for postgraduate researchers (PGRs) from the NERC Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) ACCE, ARIES, C-CLEAR, CENTA, INSPIRE and QUADRAT.

During enviroSPRINT, interdisciplinary Teams of PGRs from universities across the UK will develop innovative solutions to some of the pressing needs of policy makers, industry and third sector organisations in the environmental sciences.

"It was honestly brilliant, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole event (including the socials), felt like I gained a lot from it, and the break from thinking about my PhD project to engage in something else academic was actually useful and refreshing. The engagement from both the participants and organisers was amazing and the whole event was run incredibly well." - enviroSPRINT 2021 participant


What will we do?

Over the course of three days, Teams will rapidly investigate one of our Challenge areas, identify a key problem and innovate potential solutions.

Each Team will include a PGR Facilitator and a PGR Communicator who will receive additional training and guidance to support their Teams.

Experts from a number of nationally important organisations will contribute their time and knowledge to provide background information, insights and advice to the Teams.

On the final afternoon, Teams will demonstrate a prototype of their solution to a panel of expert judges who will assess the novelty and feasibility of the concept, along with the quality of the presentation, before selecting a winner.

Alongside this, each Team will produce a 90-second summary of their idea to share with a wider audience.

"It was incredibly engaging and rewarding to come together like a well oiled machine to come up with a project to address an aspect of sustainability we all felt passionate about." - enviroSPRINT 2021 participant

The teams will address 5 Challenge areas:

How might we communicate the importance, value and impact of the marine microbiome?

with Marine Biological Association

How might the Eden Project Wild Flower Bank enable Biodiversity Net Gain and Nature Recovery across the UK?

with Eden Project Wild Flower Bank and Earlham Institute

How might we stop microplastics entering and spreading in the environment?

with Environment Agency

How might we design, implement or apply a digital ocean twin for the benefit of society and the environment?

with National Oceanographic Centre

Accessing drinking water: Is there enough (ground water) for future supply? How do we know and how do we get it?

with British Geological Society

 

Key benefits and outcomes

Innovative solutions

Interdisciplinary thinking

Partnership working


Communication skills


Group 
decision-making


Professional development

YOUR IDEAS WILL CHANGE THE WORLD