Successful Dragons' Den Style Pitching Session at York Guildhall Awards Interdisciplinary Research Teams

In a dynamic showcase of innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration, the Guildhall in York hosted a successful Dragons' Den style pitching session. This event marked the culmination of the YESI Interdisciplinary Research Training Programme, "Building Interdisciplinary Research Culture to Tackle Environmental Sustainability Challenges," supported by Research England Enhancing Research Culture funding.

The Dragons, Dr Katy Gearing from The Royal Society, Dr Caroline Ward from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Fleur Hughes, Valuing Voices Project Manager at the University of York and our Angel Investor, Prof Peter Coventry from the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York and YESI Co-theme Lead for Environment and Health, provided invaluable input and played a crucial role in evaluating the pitches. Their expertise, insightful feedback and enthusiastic engagement were instrumental in making the event a success. 

The efforts and creativity of the teams were highly commendable. The quality of all the projects pitched was high, and the decision-making process was very challenging for the Dragons. The hard work and dedication of the teams did not go unnoticed, and the Dragons encouraged all the teams to continue developing their promising projects.

However, two standout teams secured seed funding from the Dragons and Angel Investor for their groundbreaking projects. Team 4, with their project "Sustainable Financing for Sustainable Agri-ecological Landscapes," was awarded £4,000. Their innovative approach aims to develop sustainable financial models that support the preservation and enhancement of agri-ecological landscapes, promising significant environmental and economic benefits. Team 4’s members were Daphne Ezer (Biology), Nicola Favretto (Environment and Geography), Hien Luong (Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity), Julie Parker (School of Arts and Creative Technologies) and Banki Chunwate (Environment and Geography).

Team 3 also impressed the panel with their project "Heat, Haze, and Health in Cities: Finding Transformative and Equitable Solutions to a Burning Problem." They received £1,000 to further develop their research, which focuses on addressing the critical challenges of urban heat and pollution through transformative and equitable solutions. Team 3’s members were Kate Arnold (Environment and Geography), Sarah Veale (Health Sciences), Shahadat Khandakar (School for Business and Society), Sohail Ahmad (Environment and Geography), Aysha Hanif (YESI International Fellow/Lahore College for Women University) and Christopher Lyon (Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity).

This event highlights the vital role of interdisciplinary research in tackling complex environmental sustainability issues and underscores the importance of collaborative efforts in driving innovative solutions. The awarded teams will now continue to develop their projects, contributing to a more sustainable future.