As part of our commitment to student research and innovation around sustainability, the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC) has partnered with the Students' Union to support student-led sustainability projects that address at least one of the environmental Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and help to reduce the SU’s environmental impact on the Manchester community, in particular those who have the potential to become startups.

To apply for the Steve Biko Sustainability Fund, refer to the Students' Union Sustainability page here.

Once reviewed by the SU, proposals that have business potential are referred to MEC for further support.

Proposal Criteria

• A clear focus on at least one of the environmental SDGs (an overview of these can be found in the Sustainability Toolkit)
• A realistic and achievable plan for an activity or event
• Clearly defined objectives
• A clear target audience
• A preestablished start and end date
• A detailed estimate of costings
• Information on how often and how the development of the project will be reported the Students’ Union team.

Eligibility Criteria

• The fund is open to all currently registered students at the University of Manchester. There are no restrictions on degree status (Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Research) or tuition status (home or international).
• We accept both individual and team submissions. Applicants can form a team out of interested individual students, or represent an already established group registered with the University of Manchester Students’ Union.
• External contributors to the project (e.g. academic appointees or field professionals) are also welcomed, as long as they don’t constitute the majority of the applicant team’s membership.