UCT students excel at SDG Summer School and Olympiad

Three University of Cape Town (UCT) students, supported by the ALBATROSS Project, have made a significant impact at the 2024 SDG Summer School in Geneva and the subsequent SDG Olympiad in Paris. The students — Precious Chidanyika, Nadine Nyamangirazi, and Danjelle Midgley — showcased innovative projects aimed at addressing global challenges through the lens of climate change, planetary health, and community resilience. Their contributions earned them multiple awards and accolades at these prestigious events.

The SDG Summer School, officially launched at the Geneva Trialogue on 31 May 2024, is a global competition inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While traditional olympiads often focus on fields like mathematics and science, the SDG Olympiad is unique in its emphasis on team-based, challenge-driven innovation aimed at social and environmental impact. Participants from around the world work together to develop practical solutions to pressing global issues. More than just a competition, the SDG Olympiad provides a platform for young innovators to collaborate on projects that address sustainability, climate change, and social equity. The theme of the 2024 edition of the SDG Summer School was “Planetary Health”, with a focus on the impact of climate change on human health.

Award-winning planetary predictor

Environmental attorney and PhD student Danjelle Midgley led her team to victory at the SDG Summer School, where their project, Planetary Predictor, won first place. Planetary Predictor is an educational platform designed to engage high school learners in climate change modelling, using real data from the University of Oxford’s climateprediction.net (CPDN) project. Aimed at students aged 15–18, the platform allows them to run simplified climate simulations and answer questions related to global warming’s impact on schools around the world. Through interactive challenges, students learn about climate change, planetary health, and practical adaptation strategies. The project aims to make complex climate science accessible to young people, fostering their understanding of climate impacts and encouraging active problem-solving.

Midgley and her team continued their success in Paris, where the Planetary Predictor earned a bronze medal at the SDG Olympiad, competing against over 150 projects from across the globe. Their project also received a special award from UNICEF for contributing to Digital Public Goods, highlighting its potential to benefit education systems worldwide.

Speaking about her experience, Midgley said, “Both the summer school and the olympiad were incredibly enriching experiences. Being part of a project that merges climate education and digital tools for the younger generation felt like a powerful way to create lasting impact.”

Integrating local knowledge into climate science

Nadine Nyamangirazi, a PhD student in law at UCT, won the award for the “Best Contribution to Integrating Local Knowledge and Community Needs into Climate Risk Information and Solutions”. As a member of Team SEEN, an abbreviation for “Social Ecology Education Network”, Nyamangirazi worked on the challenge of adapting a citizen science project for water quality measurement called MiniSASS, for use in the Umzimvubu basin, to gather data about the impacts of climate change and their mitigation through nature-based solutions.

As a lecturer in law and a legal researcher, she brought her interdisciplinary expertise to the project, advocating for the inclusion of local knowledge in global climate change discussions.

“The experience has broadened my understanding of how innovative, cross-disciplinary approaches can drive real-world solutions to global challenges, leaving me with valuable insights toward a healthier planet,” Nyamangirazi explained. “The recognition was a proud moment for our team, highlighting the significance of combining scientific and technological expertise with the lived experiences of local communities.”

This project challenged the team to think innovatively about how to engage local communities in climate change monitoring, ensuring that the solutions we developed were both effective and sustainable.

Championing health and climate solutions

Precious Chidanyika, a master’s student at the African Climate and Development Initiative, focused her SDG Summer School challenge on anti-malaria coalition projects. This project focused on a challenge given by the Global Fund on Malaria, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis on engaging youth in understanding and monitoring climate change effects on climate sensitive diseases, using an open-source crowdsourcing platform.

This was a challenging project but ultimately led to the team receiving the award for the “Best Contribution to Mitigating Climate Change Effects on Global Health” at both the Geneva Summer School and at the SDG Olympiad.

“Being able to be recognised among six groups in Geneva and over 150 projects at the SDG Olympiad in Paris was such a proud and fulfilling moment for our group,” said Chidanyika.

Reflecting on her experience, Chidanyika remarked, “This experience was so important for me as it gave me hope for the world as 18 international students came together to try their best working for a whole month and come up with solutions that could be implemented. It also forced me to think outside the box; and as someone who grew up in a low-middle-income country, my experience was different from someone who grew up in a high-income country which expanded the way we see the world differently. I would recommend anyone to be a part of such an enriching experience and be challenged to challenge the world problems as the youth of the world.”

Paving the way for lasting change

The achievements of these three students underscore UCT’s commitment to interdisciplinary, solution-driven approaches to climate change and sustainability. The SDG Summer School and Olympiad have offered them platforms to refine their skills and make meaningful contributions to global challenges.

Read more about the projects.