About HOPE: S4S

HOPE: Students for Sustainability Conference 2015

Western Sydney University will be hosting the first national HOPE: Students for Sustainability (S4S) professional conference 15 and 16 September 2015. The conference theme "HOPE for the future" will explore the social and environmental impacts of our society and focus on empowering our youth with knowledge and skills to lead into an uncertain future. The S4S conference will provide students with the opportunities to network with like-minded peers and industry professionals, to professionally present and share their game changing solutions or stories of success, whilst advancing their own knowledge of current and emerging sustainability issues outside of their discipline areas.The conference streams will focus on food, ethics and environment with the underpinning notions of sustainability, design and innovation. 

S4S differs from student-led conference as it is a professional styled, multi-disciplinary conference for students, with the aim to provide and improve your communication and presentation skills in a professional and supportive environment. Presenting at S4S will assist with your speaking skills and confidence, whilst developing you into sustainability literate graduates (looks great on your CV). The conference will provide assistance, training and mentoring to presenting students through a series of free online webinars. 

Anyone can attend the S4S conference, however only presentations and poster presentations are open to current undergraduate and honours students from any university degree, regionally and internationally. Student presentation and posters must showcase innovative, game changing ideas and solutions or stories of success within their institutions or community, addressing the solution to one or more of our conference streams. Students can present as individuals or in a small team. To present students must submit a short 500 - 1,000 word proposal ( DOCX, 72.69 KB) (opens in a new window). Applications are now closed. All submissions will be judged by an independent panel.
As additional support, current undergraduate or honours students who are presenting (excludes poster presentation) have the opportunity to apply for financial conference assistance packages. This financial assistance will help cover domestic air fares and on campus accommodation, as well as the waiving of the full conference fee. UWS is sponsoring 10 x $500 conference assistant packages. All applications are now closed and finalised. All submissions are judged by an independent panel. 
"I want to empower HOPE for my generation and students alike about the future concerns of a sustainable, just and ecologically resilient world. These issues are a growing concerns for me and I want to start advocating innovative solutions against our futures greatest threats. I want all students to be leaders and be the voice of change. Join me at S4S to get your solutions heard and to take action!"Justin Whittle, S4S Student Small

Justin Whittle
Student Coordinator, S4S Conference
B. Natural Science (Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security)
Western Sydney University

This conference aims to:

  • inspire students to have HOPE for the future and to come up with creative solutions for our greatest challenges - be the change you want to see
  • empower individuals or groups of students to bring about change within their communities and institutions 
  • capacity and confidence build in a professional and supportive environment, presenting at a conference (looks great on your CV)
  • provide soft skills and training that are desirable to employees - leadership, interpersonal skills and communication skills (looks great on your CV)
  • give access to like minded peers and industry professionals which could take your idea to the next level

Highlighting the event are keynote addresses from inspiration, young speakers, including:

  • Ms Stephanie Lorenzo, CEO Project Futures
  • Ms Kelly McJannette, Founder Food Ladder
  • Mr Thomas King, Founder SayNoToPalm.Oil.com
  • Senator Christine Milne, former Australian Greens leader
  • Professor James Arvanitakis, Head of The Academy
  • Ms Ronni Kahn, CEO and Founder OzHarvest

Other student conferences

Important Documents: