Dear Friend of the Reimagine our Future student sustainability competition,

We are writing to provide a brief update about Reimagine our Future.

As you know, the aim of this competition is to harness the creativity and intelligence of undergraduate students, challenging them to develop ideas and solutions that will contribute to the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and encouraging them to feel empowered as engaged problem-solvers.

Registration is now open for the 2023 competition, and we have some exciting developments to report.

Students from nine participating higher education institutions can enter the competition this year either as individuals or as members of teams. (Students from any higher education institution anywhere may be on a team that enters the competition provided that team is led by a student from a participating institution.) An up-to-date list of the participating institutions is here.

This year we added two special awards for the best submission dealing with some aspect of climate change and for the submission that went furthest in implementation.

Also, Mike Yao, a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign professor with appointments in the College of Media and the Gies College of Business, will serve as a mentor to the winning entrants, irrespective of their home institution, as they attempt to develop and implement their proposal.

The important dates for the 2023 competition are available here.

If you are an advisor on student projects, you may receive – any time between now and November 19th - a request for advice from one or more students who are planning a submission in your area of expertise or interest.

If you are a judge, we will ask for a few hours of your time during November 20-24 to help develop the list of finalists.

Special thanks to those who are playing both roles!

Our list of advisors and judges includes specialists from various universities, companies, and institutions and from many backgrounds, fields, and disciplines. This broad-ranging list encourages submissions from students in many areas.  We expect to continue to add to this list.

Thank you again for your ongoing help with this sustainability competition and for bringing your unique background, skills, professional history and more to this project. If you have advice or suggestions about any aspect of the competition, please let us know.

Yours sincerely,

Leon Liebenberg (Teaching Professor, Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, UIUC) 

Warren Lavey (Adjunct Professor, College of Law, School of Earth, Society & Environment, and College of Medicine, UIUC) 

Robert McKim (Emeritus Professor, Department of Religion, UIUC) 

(Reimagine Our Future co-founders and coordinating committee)