Sustainability in focus when this year's best upper secondary school projects were awarded
Sustainable Generation 2024
For the second year in a row, upper secondary school pupils have been able to compete in the ‘Sustainable Generation’ competition for the best upper secondary school project in sustainable development. This year's ten winning projects were awarded SEK 10,000 each at an award ceremony at KTH on Thursday 19 September.
The competition is an initiative by the School of Architecture and the Built Environment at KTH and the Företagsam Foundation.
By highlighting the work of pupils and teachers on the Upper Secondary School Project, which concludes the education in all upper secondary programmes, the competition aims to help stimulate interdisciplinary approaches and working methods, while inspiring young people to future innovation and participation in the field of sustainability. The requirements are that the competing projects must be worth 100 upper secondary school credits and be linked to at least one of the 17 goals of the UN's 2030 Agenda.
The 2024 competition has met with a gratifying and growing interest from both pupils and teachers and shows that it is possible to create a momentum for change over the next few years that improves the conditions for subject-integrated teaching.
Ten selected upper secondary school projects (out of 105 entries) were awarded SEK 10,000 each, as decided by the competition jury at an award ceremony at KTH campus on 19 September.
Before the actual award ceremony, the winners were given three mini-lectures on perspectives on current sustainability issues in different areas: ‘Increasing Swedish sustainable production and consumption of seafood’ (Fredrik Gröndahl), ‘Housing solutions for the structurally homeless’ (Linda Lövgren) and ‘Why is the transition so slow?’ (Nina Cyrén Wormbs). This was followed by presentations from pupils and supervisors who were able to talk about how they had worked on their projects.
The winners who were present then received their diplomas from Elin Kebert, Director of Information at Byggföretagen, Björn Berggren, Head of School at the school of Architecture and the Built Environment at KTH, and Bo Sillén, Företagsam Foundation, who has run the initiative.
At the end of the afternoon, the 2025 competition was announced with the addition of two new competition categories: Supervisor of the Year and Best School, which will be awarded to the school that has come the furthest in its work with subject-integrated sustainability teaching.