The Lab, which was established in 2021, works with business, government and the third sector to train students in the skills needed for collaborative and impactful research as well as to deliver real world change that advances the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

A total of 35 Fellows were selected from across the University to participate in this year’s programmes.

As part of the new BMW Group Plant Oxford Programme, 15 Fellows, including two from ODID, will work on projects focusing on new ways of addressing employee wellbeing, the local Oxford community and the plant’s impact on the environment. Students will also gain a unique insight into the manufacturing process and sustainable production.

With the Lab’s founding partner, easyJet holidays, 20 new Oxford SDG Impact Lab Fellows, including eight from ODID, will continue the work started last year to democratise sustainable tourism with easyJet holidays. They will work with a variety of stakeholders, from local businesses to government officials, NGOs and tourist boards to address challenges in specific Mediterranean tourism destinations, as well as working with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation to advance industry-wide progress.

“We are incredibly excited to announce our new partnership with the BMW Group, while continuing our work with easyJet holidays”, said Professor Alexander Betts, Co-Founder of the SDG Impact Lab. “These collaborations offer Oxford students the opportunity to apply their talents to address real-world challenges of both global and local importance, while gaining hands-on experience of working with businesses”.

In 2022, 20 Fellows worked on projects in Tenerife and Majorca, spending four weeks in the destinations undertaking research and developing their ideas. A number of the resulting projects have since been selected by easyJet holidays for implementation, including an artificial intelligence food waste solution which the company intends to pilot with a large hotel resort partner.

The ODID students involved this year are:

• Rafi Ahmed, MPhil in Development Studies (BMW)
• Pranav Baskar, MPhil in Development Studies (easyJet holidays)
• Alexander Brunner, MPhil in Development Studies (easyJet holidays)
• Zubin Deyal, Msc in Economics for Development (easyJet holidays)
• Stella Elgood Field, MPhil in Development Studies (easyJet holidays)
• Jill Gardener, MSc in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (easyJet holidays)
• Artie Lam (Tak Lam), MSc in Migration Studies (BMW)
• Anvita Ramachandran, MPhil in Development Studies (easyJet holidays)
• Tarana Ranjan, MSc in Global Governance and Diplomacy (easyJet holidays)
• Hannah Zamor, MPhil in Development Studies (easyJet holidays)

Find out more about the work of the Oxford SDG Impact Lab here.