On Wednesday 5 March, Milton Keynes College students competed against four other colleges in the Green Challenge as part of the South East Midlands Inter College Competition (SEMICC). The Green Future Challenge was hosted at the South Central Institute of Technology, with Milton Keynes College, Moulton College, Northampton College, Cambridge Regional College and Barnfield College all taking part. In SEMICC, the group of colleges across the region come together for competitions in a range of curriculum areas, skill sets and topics to support students with developing their skills for the future.

Competing to see whose idea for a sustainable future would come out on top, students researched, planned and presented a solution to a local sustainability issue. The panel of sustainability experts featured Stephen Frampton MBE, Founder of Sustainability Support for Further Education (SS4FE) and Paul Thompson, Employment and Skills Manager for South Midlands Authorities. The event was endorsed by WorldSkills UK, a partnership between education, industry and UK government to help raise standards in education and meet future skills demands.

The competing teams presented their ideas on sustainability issues, including disposable vapes, sustainable construction, using hair waste from hair salons to tackle oil spills and pollution, and overconsumption of fast fashion. The Milton Keynes College team won with their idea to encourage recycling on campus and reduce the use of single use plastics with a rewards scheme – inspired by the incredibly successful German “Pfand” (or deposit) system.

Paul Thompson said: “What impressed me was the quality of the content from the teams, the way they worked together and the level of organisation they showed.”

Stephen Frampton MBE agreed, adding: “For me, what stood out was how respectful the students were of each other, how inclusive their presentations were and the winning team’s approach of using humour to convey their message was great because it’s not just about having a great idea, we need people to act on it. We’re in a climate crisis, we need urgent action at pace and scale, and I think the winning presentation would have persuaded people to go away and do something engaging, that’s for sure.” 

Katherine Watkiss, a student from MK College and a member of the winning team, said: “I had the idea for our entry into the competition late last year, about introducing a way that students could gain money from their recycling, because I had seen an absence of recycling. I’d sort of forgotten about it until this competition was mentioned. When we put together our PowerPoint of our original ideas, Jonathan and I had the exact same idea and they matched up really well. Winning for our presentation has given me a massive confidence boost in my ability to do things like this.”

Katherine’s teammate Jonathan McTeer added: “I wanted to take part in the competition because I want to make a change in the world. I believe that sustainability is a thing that should be accessible for everyone, and our idea is a very good realisation of that. I’ve also gained a lot of confidence in my presentation skills, which will stand me in good stead for my future career.”

Lauren Gallyot, Sustainability Lead at Milton Keynes College, commented: “What a fantastic competition! We were so excited to host the Green Future Challenge here at Milton Keynes College this year, bringing together learners from five colleges across the region to present their ideas, showcase their hard work and share their thoughts on how we can tackle climate change and the complex and challenging issues it presents to us all.

“The students’ presentations were all very impressive, demonstrating the huge amount of research they’d put into their ideas and the passion that they have for sustainability.”

To learn more about sustainability at Milton Keynes college, read more here.