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New fellowship recognises work of Priestley Centre staff

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Centre news
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A member of the Priestley Centre team has been awarded an honorary fellowship by the Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education (EAUC).

The fellowship recognises the exceptional contribution that Dr Shona Smith has made to the sector and to the EAUC community over the past few years.   

Dr Smith, Research and Innovation Development Manager at the Priestley Centre, has been working closely with the EAUC and its members since 2019.  

She has played an important role in the COP26 Universities Network, bringing institutions together to ensure a stronger voice at COP26. Now named the UK Universities Network (UUCN), this growing group of over 85 UK-based universities and research organisations is working together to deliver a low carbon, resilient world. 

Networks and collaborations such as these can achieve so much

Dr Shona Smith

On learning of the honorary fellowship, Dr Smith said: “It is a privilege to be recognised alongside so many excellent and impactful people working on environmental challenges within the further and higher education sector.  

“My work with the UUCN has been a highlight of recent years. Networks and collaborations such as these can achieve so much, and support sector wide approaches to a resilient net zero transition.” 

Work co-led by Dr Smith has explored how the UK further and higher education sector can reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions. This has included developing a briefing paperon carbon offsetting for the sector, and a working paper and case studies about mainstreaming climate education. 

Dr Smith is currently representing the UUCN in work with the Department for Education and the EAUC to develop a standardised carbon emissions framework for the UK further and higher education sector as part of the Queen’s Jubilee Challenge.  

Since 2017, the EAUC has awarded a number of fellowships and honorary fellowships as part of their aim to strengthen their community to become a more powerful movement of engagement, capacity and change.  

As the sustainability champion for universities and colleges in the UK, the EAUC represents institutions with over 2 million students and nearly 400,000 staff.  

The full list of fellows is available on the EAUC website.