Student-Led Change: ENLIGHT Celebrating Ideas That Make a Difference
Big ideas start with students. Across the ENLIGHT alliance, students are developing creative initiatives, challenging existing ways of thinking, and turning their ideas into action to build a more sustainable, inclusive, diverse, and accessible environment.
On 23 October 2026, the ENLIGHT Inclusion and Sustainability Awards 2026 took centre stage in a plenary session at the ENLIGHT Teaching & Learning Conference. The session brought together this year’s awardees to share their projects, experiences, and ambitions, celebrating the ideas that are already making a difference and have the potential to inspire change far beyond their university campuses.
Each ENLIGHT university had the opportunity to nominate one project per award category, highlighting the creativity and commitment of student-led initiatives across the alliance.
While we congratulate this year’s winners and runners-up, we also celebrate all nominees. Every project offers a valuable perspective on how students can shape their communities and contribute to a better future. By sharing these initiatives, we aim to give visibility to the ideas, recognise the students behind them, and inspire others across ENLIGHT to take action.
Meet the nominees and awardees
Sustainability Award 2026
Winner: Swecircle (Jacob Lehmann, Uppsala University)
A highly engaging student-led project that effectively promotes circular economy principles through a concrete approach. The jury highlighted its strong sense of student community, easy-to-measure impact, and inspiring potential for replication across other institutions, noting its student engagement and practical sustainability learning.
Runners-up:
Project B (Leopold & Anna Dodd, University of Göttingen)
An inspiring and innovative initiative that stands out for its collaboration with local businesses and its attempt to address sustainability from multiple angles. It was seen as particularly valuable for outreach and for ensuring a diversity of student-led initiatives that can inspire the wider ENLIGHT community in different ways.
Environmental Week (Jana Katre Ojasoobüs - Life Sciences Students' Association, University of Tartu)
A creative and evolving initiative with a variety of engaging activities designed to sustain interest over time. The jury appreciated its varied format, noting it as very innovative, with strong scalability potential and the ability to maintain long-term engagement.
Also nominated:
- Garazi Izagirre Sarrionandia, Assessment of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Waste in Local Greengrocers: From Bachelor’s Thesis to Educational Innovation through the Elkarhezi Project, University of the Basque Country
- Ainhoa Martinelli, Mario Dias and Siro Koch, The SDG Game: A new way of teaching sustainable development, University of Bern
- Nael Bouaoun, Ecology and Solidarity Week, University of Bordeaux
- Kristína Grejtáková, Multi-Stakeholder Meetings as part of Sustainability Projects for Marginalized Roma in Slovakia, Comenius University Bratislava
- Hugh Gately, University of Galway Model United Nations (UGMUN), University of Galway
- Hanna Van Herck and Astrid Verstraete, Sustainable Catering at Ghent University, Ghent University
- Jelke van der Heide, Inhibiting and Facilitating Factors for a More Plant-Based Eating and Drinking Pattern for Residents of Nursing Homes, University of Groningen
Inclusion Award 2026
Winner: CLASH – Collectif de Lutte contre les Attitudes Sexistes en milieu Hospitalier (Anuschka Arni, University of Bern)
From the jury comments: A powerful systemic intervention addressing sensitive institutional issues through a multi-level, prevention-oriented approach. The initiative stands out for its secure and anonymous reporting infrastructure, strong peer-led and participatory model grounded in lived experience, and a clear focus on sustainability and institutional advocacy beyond the project itself.
Runners-up:
Period. (Natália Daxnerová - Student Association Women in Law, Comenius University Bratislava)
A contextually grounded and evidence-based initiative that brings strong visibility to an often overlooked issue through innovative framing. While its impact extends beyond what quantitative indicators show, its symbolic significance and contribution to awareness around gendered burdens are particularly compelling.
Black Girl Support Collective (Ashley Monteiro, University of Groningen)
An impactful, evolving community-based initiative with a strong long-term vision. It was recognised for creating safer, healthier spaces and for its meaningful impact on community well-being.
Also nominated:
- Adrián Ocio, K-minus: Redefining Mobility Through Inclusive All-Terrain Wheelchair Innovation, University of the Basque Country
- Margaux Huchet, The Teddy Bear Hospital: Combating the Fear of White Coats, University of Bordeaux
- Liis Getter Müürsepp, Training for Kindergarten Teachers on How to Approach Children with Challenging Behaviour, University of Tartu
- Simon Gebre Yohannes, F1RST Uppsala, Uppsala University
Student-led change starts with an idea, but its impact grows when that idea is shared. The ENLIGHT Inclusion and Sustainability Awards celebrate not only individual achievements, but also the collective potential of students across the alliance to inspire new perspectives, spark collaboration, and turn ambitious ideas into meaningful action.
Explore initiatives which have previously received ENLIGHT Sustainability and Inclusion Awards: https://enlight-eu.org/university-about-us/sustainability/1328-sustainable-student-awards-and-projects
Photo: Yoshiko Kusano