Application Guidance

We welcome research, projects and assignments that relate to any aspect of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and applications are encouraged from all levels and disciplines. The themes for SSRC25 are as follows: 

• Rapid Emissions Reduction 
• Climate Adaptation and Resilience 
• Nature Restoration 
• A Just Transition 
• Education for Sustainable Development 
• Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure 

All applications must be submitted via our online application form by the 23:59 on Sunday 15th December. You will be asked for: 

• Personal details. 
• Information about your current study, including level of study, institution and programme name. 
• Whether your application is an individual or group submission.
• Information about your research, including the project title and a description of your research, outlining how it relates to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 
• A short biography about yourself. 
• Information about any individual adjustments you may require. 

Please note, as we are actively reducing carbon emissions related to the conference, we do not allow presentations that have a negative sustainability impact or the use of single-use plastic items in any part of the day. 

Following the deadline, all submissions will be anonymised and scored by a Sustainability Professional, a student and a representative from one of the twelve HE institutions and Yorkshire Universities. The people reviewing your submission may not be specialists in your field so please ensure you use accessible, jargon-free language. 

The context of each application, including the level of study of the applicant, will be taken into consideration during the marking process. The marking criteria exist to act as a guide to ensure consistency across markers.

Each submission will receive an average score out of five against these three criteria: 

• Relevance (to sustainability): How closely does the project relate to the specified theme and to the SDGs? Does the research consider aspects of environmental, political, economic and social sustainability? 
• Novelty: Is there a clear outline describing the originality of the project? Is the approach creative and innovative? Is this research exciting and new? 
• Impact: Does the project have potential to create change or have significant advancement in the field? Does the approach to deliver the project consider any positive and negative sustainability impacts?  

Successful applicants will be contacted in January with further advice and guidance sent out as necessary.

• Use a catchy, creative title. It should be engaging and attractive to a non-specialist audience.   
• Provide a clear outline describing the originality of your project, its aims, any findings you have discovered, the relevance to sustainability, and the positive impacts it may have regarding future solutions for a sustainable society. Think about which UN Sustainable Development Goals and conference theme your research relates to.  
• Availability for sessions is limited so please give as much detail as possible in your application form and submit early. Please note that, due to time constraints of the conference, you may be offered a shorter presentation slot. We encourage all presenters to supply a poster too. 
• Keep in mind all sessions will be given to a mixed discipline, non-specialist audience. Use jargon-free text and explain technical terms where necessary.  
• Presentations of complete and ‘in progress’ research projects and assignments are accepted. Your work does not have to be finished or in its final stages, however it should have clear aims. You can include results and conclusions in your submission if you wish, however this is not compulsory. 
• Work conducted in groups is welcome to be presented. Please be sure to note this in your application, name the researchers and only submit one application / poster as a group. 
• You do not need to include an academic poster as part of the application form, all successful applicants will have the opportunity to send their posters at a later date before the event. 

We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. The Student Sustainability Research Conference is linked to all of the SDGs.

Find out more about our impact on the SDGs.