BUP Student Conference 2026
This three day event, held on 9-12 June, focused on biodiversity, climate change, and sustainable land use. In total, 72 students from 40 BUP participating universities took part in the event, hosted by Lund University and their Sustainability Forum, in collaboration with the biosphere reserve Storkriket.
The event was entitled 'The Complex Equation: Climate, Land use and Biodiversity - Understanding Conflicts, Designing Solutions'.
The participating students explored how ecological, social, and political systems interact and how synergies and trade-offs shape decisions for a more sustainable and resilient future. This was done via lectures, presentations, roleplay, an excursion, and group work.
At the conference, the participants chose two new Student Representatives for the BUP International Board.. The election took place during the Students' Parliament, where the participants at the conference had the opportunity to run as candidates. The students elected were Yeva Sychova from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and Elin Björninen from Södertörn University. News article about the new Student Representatives.
The participants photographed after the conclusion of the conference. Photo: Adam Sjöström
Evaluation of the event
The evaluation was completed by 46 participants and the training received an overall impression score of 8.7/10. Particularily highly rated were the presentation 'Conflicts between Biodiversity Land-Use and Climate' by Hakim Abdi, the lecture and roleplay about Storkriket held by Anna-Karin Poussart, the lecture on 'Stakeholders Trade-offs & Synergies' by Johanna Alkan-Olsson, and the guided excursion through Storkriket. The students also praised the accommodation as well as to the BUP staff's support and communication in connection with the event.
The students noted that the atmosphere has been good and friendly and that the BUP code of conduct had been followed.
Quotes from the evaluation
”The presentation 'Conflicts between Biodiversity Land-Use and Climate' was one of my favorite lectures I've attended in my entire uni life, thank you!”
”A nice addition to such a BUP event would be to invite the actual various stakeholders and join them in a leaded discussion - with questions we could ask.”
”Amazing people and the biodiversity collage, I am planning to facilitate it for my own program during the orientation week since I study sustainability it’s a good match and definitely more people should know about this.”
Organiser voice
”I am proud to showcase the collaboration between the Storkriket Biosphere Reserve and Lund University. It was inspiring to see the students engage with the many challenges and conflicting interests we face in the area, and to work toward identifying solutions that enhance sustainability, both socially, ecologically, and economically. The students were also trained to analyze the root causes of these issues and to determine who needs to act and what actions are required to address them. We hope they will take this approach and the knowledge gained here back to their home countries and apply it in their future work.”
- Ann Åkerman, Lund University Sustainability Forum
Participant evaluations
- Participants stated that the event had been a safe space where they felt secure, giving this a 9.6/10 rating.
- Participants felt that there was room for improvement when it came to the online lectures beforehand, giving them a 7.7/10 rating.
- Participants thought that the event was worthwhile in attending, in terms of their studies, future aspirations and career, giving an 8.5/10 rating.
All overall ratings were made on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is considered negative and 10 is considered positive.
Voices of participants
Suprita Ghosh - Participant from Kiel University
Before attending, I was just excited and looking forward to learning more about stakeholders' conflict resolution. Although Storkriket was also something that really fascinated me.
The highlights were the people, the lectures, everything; it was a very cooperative learning environment, considering we were all from different backgrounds.
I take with me amazing people, the biodiversity fresk exercise, and the hope to join Lund as a sustainability researcher one day.
Kristina Soroka - Participant from Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University
Before the trip, I was counting on us to just sit in the classroom, listen to lectures or something like that, but I was pleasantly surprised that we had mini excursions, that I was able to see Lund and its vastness.
The best part was communicating with other students from different countries and making new acquaintances, exchanging knowledge and information.
The only thing that was not convenient was settling into the dormitory and moving out. I arrived very early and left late, and being somewhere with suitcases was not very cool. I would have also liked to have food with meat.
Images from the event
Photo: Adam Sjöström
During the excursion to Storkriket, the students were given an introduction by the biosphere coordinator Anna-Karin Poussart.
Photo: Adam Sjöström
The biosphere reserve has wetlands, forests, and sandy areas which provide important habitats for many endangered species. There is also research being conducted about the Stork, which, for most of the second part of the 1900s, stopped nesting in the south of Sweden.
Photo: Adam Sjöström
The biodiversity fresk allowed the students to, in smaller groups, discuss and learn more about the systemic aspects of biodiversity.
Photo: Adam Sjöström
They worked with a set of cards which they had to link together to understand what biodiversity is, what it enables, and what degrades it.
Photo: Adam Sjöström
One of the lunches was just at the beach by the lake Vomb, which is where most of the citizens in the south-western parts of the county of Skåne get their drinking water from.
Photo: Adam Sjöström
One evening was focused on the cultural party. The students had brought snacks, drinks, and other items which painted a picture of their home country. They also shared stories and told of things that were representative of their country and culture.
Photo: Adam Sjöström
There were group exercises, and the students were divided into different themes where they focused on diving deeper into their subject. Pictured is Ann Åkerman from the Lund University Sustainability Forum, giving an introduction.
Photo: Adam Sjöström
The results of the group work were presented via posters, which were followed by discussions.
Photo: Adam Sjöström
The final point in the program was the Students' Parliament. The session offered the opportunity for the students to stand as candidates in the election for the role of BUP Student Representative on the BUP's International Board. It was also a chance to submit motions to be forwarded to the board.
Photo: Adam Sjöström
The Students' Parliament was led by the outgoing Student Representatives and two new ones were elected. From the left: Agnė Žiogaitė (former representative), Yeva Sychova (new representative), Meri Poghosyan (former representative), and Elin Björninen (new representative).