Yulia Vetoshkina
As part of the International Forum and Exhibition “Russia” in Moscow, 16 May saw the final of the accelerator of student projects in the field of ecology, labor protection and social volunteering “Green Light”. Of the 12 participants who qualified for the finals, seven became prize-winners. In the “Social Project” category, first place went to fourth-year student of the SPbGASU Faculty of Automobile and Road Building Yulia Vetoshkina, with her work “Arrange for separate collection on campus and not go crazy.”
The "Green Light" competition is designed to support promising young people who are ready to implement complex corporate projects or have their own initiatives in the field of ecology and labor protection. It was established by the Green Light Foundation for the formation and development of future leaders in the field of ecology and labor safety and the EcoStandard group company. Since 2020, more than 1,500 Russian students have taken part in the project. More than 100 Russian universities are "Green Light" partners.
According to Yulia, she likes to participate in interesting design competitions. In the fall, her teacher, associate professor at the Department of Technosphere Safety, Olga Gorbunova, offered to join the "Green Light" accelerator. The student immediately agreed.
At the “Green Sprint” stage, the competitors participated in various challenges - they proposed options for organizing occupational safety and environmental events, and photographed the risk factors that surround people in everyday life. At this stage, Yulia took second place.
Then the participants began working on projects. Yulia Vetoshkina has lived on the Interuniversity campus of St Petersburg for four years and was the chairman of student house No. 1 for three years. According to her, she was sure that it was necessary and realistic to arrange for separate waste collection on the territory of the Interuniversity Campus.
Yulia said that she was faced with a lack of knowledge among students about how to separate and sort waste and why it is important. The student carried out educational work, organized a survey and an event to collect hazardous waste and recyclables. She was helped by the project’s mentors and Olga Gorbunova. According to Yulia, her project had no equal in terms of the number of people involved. The final coincided with the pre-diploma internship, and the project had to be defended remotely. Yulia managed to win!
“I plan to develop the project, because it is very important. The more people can understand how and why to sort waste, the cleaner the air we breathe and the water we drink will be,” shared Yulia Vetoshkina.