Sustainability

Living Lab dissertation ideas for students: fair trade perceptions and the impact of robotics on workers

Did you know the University seeks to solve social responsibility and sustainability issues relating to our infrastructure and practices using student research? This is known as the 'living lab' approach.

Are you interested in doing a dissertation that links to a Social Responsibility and Sustainability topic? To support remote dissertations, our team can arrange to meet with you two to three times to discuss the project context and provide contacts and can be in touch by email. We can provide a practitioner perspective, to complement the guidance of your academic supervisor.

View all of our Living Lab projects

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Student perceptions of fair trade

One of our proposed dissertation projects is to research student perceptions of fair trade and related initiatives at the University of Edinburgh.

The draft question is: 'How do students at the University of Edinburgh currently perceive fair trade, and what could be done to encourage more student interest in this the issue of worker rights in supply chains?'

More information available under the 'proposed project' tab of our Living Lab project database.

View the Living Lab database

Robotics impact on workers in ICT supply chains

Could your dissertation research help answer this question?

'How is the use of robotics in global information and communication technology (ICT) supply chains impacting on workers?'

This project is linked to EU-funded research taking place from 2017-20 called 'Make ICT Fair'.

More information available under the 'proposed project' tab of our Living Lab project database.

View the Living Lab database Make ICT Fair

 

If you have any questions about Living Labs in general or the projects above, please contact Liz Cooper.

Liz Cooper

Research & Policy Manager

Contact details

Availability

  • Before completing an MSc in Business & Community, Liz worked on fair trade & livelihoods projects in India and Senegal for a number of years. She joined the University in 2012 to work on supply chain social responsibility, and currently leads the department’s Fairness in Trade and Sustainable Procurement Programme, including research, policy development, and collaboration with the Procurement Office on implementation. She also contributes to work on responsible investment, and leads work on developing a Living Lab approach – linking academic research to practice in the University on SRS issues.