I think I’ve learnt quite a lot of useful skills like communication and collaborating on business plans through this experience. It was really good that it also went hand-in-hand with my studies and I could apply the theory of Sustainable Development Goals in real life.
Suyeon Han, International Development BA
16 May 2022
Global Affairs students secure funding to support zero hungry and age care in London
Anselm Au and Suyeon Han have co-created projects to meet the needs of their local London community and won funding from the King’s Civic Challenge to bring their ideas to life.
Responding to issues identified by their community partners, these two students from the School of Global Affairs have developed collaborative and creative solutions to some of the issues facing local communities.
They successfully pitched their ideas in the King’s Civic Challenge Grand Final and have secured £5,000, as well as an evaluation package and ongoing coaching to help make their projects more impactful.
Suyeon Han, International Development BA, worked with Inspire at St Peter’s to address food poverty in the Southwark area. Her team developed a business plan to launch a café that will tackle food insecurity by selling affordable meals via a membership scheme. The venue will also run workshops to help youth and parents upskill and learn more about nutrition.
Having now successfully completed the challenge, Suyeon hopes to bring the team’s ideas to the next level and to continue Friday night dinners with Inspire.
“We went to give out food on Fridays and it’s really, really fun. I think as long as I stay in London, I would love to keep participating in Friday dinner.”
Anselm Au, Bioethics and Society MSc, worked with AgeUK Lambeth to devise a three-step strategy to attract, connect and build confidence in the elderly.
"I am particularly glad to have been in a team of intelligent and motivated students coming from different faculties at King's, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Through developing the project proposal for AgeUK Lambeth, I think the Civic Challenge became a more interesting experience than I had originally anticipated."
It’s definitely a unique opportunity that gives you some insight into the inner workings at a UK charity, especially for students at the School of Global Affairs.
Anselm Au, Bioethics and Society MSc
Teams working on the King’s Civic Challenge have been developing their proposals since December 2021 and were supported by a coach from King’s alumni community, as well as a programme of workshops and training. They submitted written proposals and video pitches in early April and a panel of judges from their local borough selected the winning teams. Eight projects secured funding in the Grand Final.