Institute for Global Sustainable Development » IGSD News

��ɫ��Ƶ Sustainability Forum: 2 July 2026

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 12:05:00 GMT

The annual ��ɫ��Ƶ Sustainability Forum in its third iteration took place on 2 July, bringing a community of researchers, practitioners and policy-makers together at ��ɫ��Ƶ. It broke its record again(!) in terms of number :) having attracted nearly 70 participants from across the University and beyond!

For the first time, the WSF connected to the Spotlight's Sustainability Training School (STA), which was held in March 2026: the participants learned about the results of three fantastic group projects - on sustainable heritage; student retention, and green composting in the area led by the ECRs - and the support they received from Coventry City Council (Giuliana Famiglietti and her team in particular). The forum also brought three established thematic networks with their champions - Circular Economy; Sustainable Food/Agritech; RIFT - to hear about their work and plans for the future. There was an opportunity thereafter to hear new voices and submit thematic ideas/champion names for the next year. The Forum concluded with the stakeholder round-table, involving the Provost's keynote, and members of the House of Lords and local council, SOS UK, VUB HOST and experts from EU-US and UK consultancy companies.

IGSD was prominently represented there, building on the opportunities the Spotlight offers, and the expertise it connects.

IGSD away day: 1 July 2026

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 11:47:00 GMT

The IGSD team met up in Scarman to exchange news regarding their research and funding activities; discuss how best to support the School's research environment and thematic clusters building; and to consider CPD opportunities for external partnerships.

IGSD team members have been successful in a series of funding opportunities, including British Academy, EU Horizon, and UKRI (1-stage applications). IGSD team also noted a growing success of their partnerships with the Sustainability Spotlight - a research network of 1000+ across ��ɫ��Ƶ - and external partners including with China and India HEIs, EUTOPIA HEIs, and more.

Joint Conference: Disastrous pasts and Sustainable Futures, 29-30 June 2026

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 15:59:23 GMT

The conference 'Disastrous Pasts and Sustainable Futures' organised by the Global History and Culture Centre (GHCC) with the support from IGSD and the Sustainability Spotlight, brought together a truly interdisciplinary cohort of scholars and practitioners, ranging from historians, architects, political and social scientists to life sciences and disaster studies.

Led by Dr Pierre Purseigle (GHCC) and IGSD/SCFS colleagues (Vangelis Pitidis, Camila Audia, and Marta Guerriero) the conference focused on the experience of devastated communities, and the process of urban recovery and on the manifold legacies of disaster, with a view for more sustainable futures. Speakers came from a range of UK HEIs (Loghbourgh; Oxford and Kings College London), Europe (Copenhagen, Torino, Fribourg, Tartu, Athens )and beyond (Columbia; Ghana, KwaZulu-Natal and Dakar).

We hope this important thematic initiative will continue to grow and result in relevant publications, and funding initiatives!

Parliamentary Round-table on Supporting Ukrainian refugees: disability, welfare, employment and settlement

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 13:06:14 GMT

Delighted to have been invited by Professor Robin Goodwin to be part of the parliamentary roundtable: Supporting disabled Ukrainians in the UK. The panel is sponsored by Matt Western MP and focuses on the key challenges that the Ukrainians face in times of war, including disability, housing, welfare & employment, mental health, and settlement. Both Robin and Olena Orlova reported on the results of their project (policy brief) and discussed future plans.

While being closely involved in research and support of Ukrainians and Belarusians, my heart always bleeds every time when I hear about the pain and problems these courageous and tenacious peoples face. At the same time, I know that justice will prevail, although pain and trauma will linger for decades on, and that's why we need to be ready to offer even more help and support as Prof Robin Goodwin reports.

#Ukrainians #war #trauma #Disability #militaryveterans #community #Support

'Is Putin's Eurasian order resilience?' - the question my newly published article in Contemporary Security Policy Journal (online first) addresses

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:55:00 GMT

This article builds on the introduction to this Special Forum and Trine Flockhart’s original argument about the arrival of the multi-order world. It discusses the foundations of Putin’s claimed vision for a different kind of “polarity”, allegedly “non-hierarchical”, “equal”, and “self-regulatory”, but in reality deeply hegemonic and internally conformist. In this article, I argue that not only is Putin’s vision seriously misguided, but it also fails to recognise the increasing diversity within Central Eurasia. It is furthermore “propagated” by unsustainable means, including force, coercion, disinformation, and fear. I will first explore principles of order-making, focusing on its “softer aspects’—social memory, shared history/culture, and imaginaries of the good life—and relate them to “sameness’ and “diversity” principles of the multi-order world, as more nuanced anticipatory governance. I apply this framework to Putin’s Eurasian order-building efforts to determine this order's resilience. Guess what my answer is?

Exceptionally grateful to Trine Flockhart and Liv Nelsen, and to the journal editors and reviewers for their helpful comments and support! To University of ��ɫ��Ƶ - for Open Access :), and to my fellow contributors for insightful discussions we all had as part of the #AGMOW project - Anticipating Governance in a Multi-Order World :).

Radical Imaginaries - Radical Transformations: Sustainability Spotlight workshop, 30 April 2026

Tue, 12 May 2026 08:48:43 GMT

The Radical Imaginaries-Radical Transformations (RIRT) thematic initiative, under the Sustainability Spotlight, organised the second network-building event, led by Dr Marit Hammond (PAIS), Prof. Graeme Macdonald (ECLS) and Prof. Elena Korosteleva (IGSD). It involved two panels - a 'politics'- and 'arts'-focused involving external speakers - Prof. Albena Azmanova (City), Dr Carl Death (Manchester), Dr Natalie Pollard (Exeter) and Dr Orion Maxted (VUB) - and internal speakers - Dr Nick Lawrence (ECLS), Dr Jonathan Skinner (ECLS) and Carla Washbourne (CIM). The workshop focused on the key questions around future climate and power imaginaries, to see if just and sustainable transitions are possible, and under what conditions. The workshop's aims included building a network of like-minded scholars - it was attended by over 60(!) participants - capture ideas/ways of thinking (Thank you NiftyFox!) and produce a position paper, based on roundtable discussions at the workshop (working on it!). Thank you to all who attended, and to Cher Zou, Jason Snow and Tanya Liguori for supporting this event!

EUI workshop on Building Capacity for Integrated Resilience Research on Ukraine and Beyond, 28-29 April 2026

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:29:00 GMT

Prof. Korosteleva was invited to speak at the EUI workshop on 28 April, with a focus of developing an integrated resilience approach, with reference to Ukraine and other countries. The workshop organised by Prof. Inna Melnykovska Jean Monnet Fellow, Robert Schuman Centre (EUI), innovatively looked at the concept, case-studies, research methods, and designs of the future, to capture the moments of resilience nurturance. This workshop also drew on expertise of EUI Professors, Trine Flockahart (Multi-oder world) and Kalypso Nicolaidis (demoi-cracy), as well as resilience conceptualisation by Prof. Korosteleva (��ɫ��Ƶ) and other speakers.

https://www.eui.eu/events?id=585709

EUI book presentation and AGMOW project discussions

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:17:11 GMT

Delighted to have shared my book Complexity and Community in IR: nurturing resilience in Central Eurasia (OUP2025) at the School of Transnational Governance European University Institute at the invitation of Trine Flockhart. I am exceptionally grateful to both Trine as Chair, and Liv Nelsen as my discussant; as well as to the meticulous organisation of the event by the STG staff and of course, to the audience and their thought-provoking questions, always. The AGMOW project, focusing on Anticipating Governance in the Multi-Order World, is more topical than ever before: it looks at the crisis of the Liberal International Order, and the disruption of the Global Rules-Based Order, and the emergence of other alternatives. Above all, the project drills into how orders emerge and are situated, at the sameness and diversity; and this is where resilience-governance, premised on societal agency (or Community of Relations) becomes to play a decisive role, for orders to be resilient, and sustainable, in a crisis-prone world. Watch the space, for Special Forums in relation to AGMOW, and new discussions - to be continued!

https://academic.oup.com/book/61660

https://www.eui.eu/events?id=583863

IGSD (Assistant)Professor receives substantial research grant for BREATHE project

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:16:00 GMT

Dr Hita Unnikrishnan has been awarded a substantial research grant by the British Academy following their International Interdisciplinary Research Projects Awards 2026.

Dr Unnikrishnan, an assistant professor within IGSD, received almost £300,000 towards her research project titled ‘Building Resilience through Equitable Action on Temperature, Heat, and indoor Emissions’ (BREATHE), which is being co-investigated by Dr Lavanya Suresh (Birla Institute of Technology and Science), Dr Manik Gupta (Birla Institute of Technology and Science) and Dr Deepshikha Batheja (One Health Trust).

The BREATHE project, which will be carried out over a period of two years, aims to investigate how historical and intersectional inequalities influence differential experiences of heat stress and indoor air pollution (IAP) among members of peri-urban households within the global south.

Working on the hypothesis that women and vulnerable family members within patriarchally-structured households are more likely to suffer from higher rates of heat stress and IAP (due to factors such as more time spent within the home and exposure to unclean cooking fuels), Dr Unnikrishnan and her co-investigators will be combining historical research with large household surveys, satellite data analysis and machine learning models in the Bidar and Chikkaballapur districts of south Indian Karnataka. The project will be pivotal to understanding existing barriers regarding equitable health outcomes and the gendered considerations of climate impact, demonstrating the social and health implications of global sustainability that our School’s research division works tirelessly to raise awareness of.

We congratulate Dr Unnikrishnan on her outstanding achievement. Watch this space for more updates on this project to come!

University of ��ɫ��Ƶ Launches 2026 ECR Sustainability Training Academy to Shape Global Planetary Solutions

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:08:06 GMT

The University of ��ɫ��Ƶ proudly launched the Early Career Researcher Sustainability Training Academy 2026 (ECR STA 2026), 24-27March, 2026. This flagship initiative, organized by the Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD) in collaboration with the University’s Sustainability Spotlight and Society and Culture Spotlight, aims to empower the next generation of transdisciplinary leaders. The 2026 Academy brings together 20 of ��ɫ��Ƶ’s most innovative postgraduate and early career researchers (ECRs) for an intensive four-day programme. Building on the success of previous iterations in Venice (2025) and the global STS (2023 and 2024), this year’s academy focuses on critical interdisciplinary concepts, innovative methodologies, and creative reflections "beyond the Self."

The ECR STA 2026 continues ��ɫ��Ƶ’s commitment to global partnerships, supported by alliances such as EUTOPIA, GUILD, Monash Alliance, and UN SDSN UK. By pioneering new ways of training, the University remains at the forefront of driving just and equitable transitions toward a more resilient future.

For more information on the ECR STA 2026 and the Institute for Global Sustainable Development, please visit the Official STA 2026 Event Page or the IGSD Training School Archive.