Student activities

Students on Study and Work Away activities are taking action at home and abroad.

Carbon literacy training

SWAY has been working with the University's Department of Social Responsibility and Sustainability (SRS) to offer bespoke carbon literacy sessions for outbound and inbound Study and Work Away Students. 

These sessions connect exchange students from diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds to discuss global and local environmental issues, and gain a qualification. 

This year's sessions will take place on 20, 25 and 26 March 2025.  Inbound and outbound students will receive an email invitation to participate.

SRS has lots of information about ways you can take climate-positive action, with training courses, learning opportunities, paid internships, funding and advice to help you improve your sustainability skillset and empower you to take action.

Find out how you can take positive action 

Active Lives

In November, a hardy team of current and former Study and Work Away students rolled up their sleeves, braved the winter weather, and joined forces with the University's Active Lives and Estates teams to plant 1200 daffodils in the grounds of the University's George Square Gardens.

We're teaming up again with Active Lives to offer students an opportunity to get involved in The Big Dig this spring and a group of student and staff volunteers will plant 300 trees at Easter Bush Campus as part of the University's net zero by 2040 initiative. 

Stories from abroad

Find out how our Study and Work Away students are living more sustainably while abroad. 

I am currently volunteering at the local thrift store which is fun, sustainable, and a great way to get to know some people in the local community and to practice some Dutch. 

All of the items are donated by people in the area and sold at reasonable prices. It’s called De Buurtkringloop (the neighbourhood charity shop). Sophie, the founder, began it as an experiment and it was so successful that it’s still running 3 years later! She also organises events for the community to try and encourage connections that wouldn’t otherwise have been made. For instance, there is a baking competition in a few weeks, and they will have a stall at Lowlands festival selling wacky clothes (a popular music festival just outside the city). When I first moved here I was able to buy my furniture from there (and another second-hand store nearby) so it feels like a nice full-circle moment to work there now! 

In exchange for voluntary work I get Makkie vouchers. These are a kind of currency that you can spend at certain businesses in the local area to encourage a community mindset. I think that it’s a great idea, maybe it’s something that we could have in Edinburgh! For one hour of work, I get one Makkie- 5 will buy a meal at the local Indonesian restaurant, 1 will get me a coffee at a cute bar, and with 2 I could buy a new skirt. Here is a link to the initiative: 

https://makkie.amsterdam/project/de-buurtkringloop/ 

It’s in Dutch but you can translate it! 

Some of my friends also volunteer at a place called De Sering, a people’s kitchen. Whilst I’ve only eaten there before (delicious!) I think it’s a great initiative and maybe something that you’d be interested to read about.

 https://www.desering.org/blank-1


I am in Versailles, France, studying Landscape Architecture! Having a lovely time, the campus is gorgeous, we are situated on the ‘Potager du Roi’ (Kings Vegetable Gardens) so as you can imagine the sustainability involvement is plentiful! 

As I am in a busy time of my studies, I don’t have time to get involved in all the opportunities but something I have been consistently enjoying since my time here was getting involved in a society called ‘Picorama’. 

The society manages a chicken coup on site in one of the less used part of the garden, it is around 100 by 50m and houses around 15 chickens with a few young ones as well! The coupe also has an on-site compost site, the idea is that one or more people from the society sign up to go once a day and make sure the chickens are fed (locally sourced grain), watered (on site collected rainwater) and especially inside the coupe as they do tend to be crafty escape artists! 

In return for this you are allowed to take home any eggs that you might find on your visit. You are also invited to put your compost either into the chickens personal stockpile, or - depending on the contents of your compost (ie. No chicken bones!!) - add it to the gardens general compost that is used by the on-site gardeners to enrich the soil. 

The system works super well and everyone on campus is very supportive of the activity! The society does help this enthusiasm by organising crepe, waffle or general bake sales at various points throughout the year, all made with the chicken eggs!! 


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