ESKE PROJECT

Student Knowledge Exchange

Dr. Ximena Schmidt Rivera is a Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering at Brunel University London and an independent sustainability research consultant. As a chemical engineer and a life cycle sustainability expert, she has vast experience working on multi-stakeholder and interdisciplinary projects assessing the sustainability aspects of food systems at national and international levels.

Ximena’s current work expands from sustainable and healthy diets and cooking practices to food production, waste valorisation and circular economy. Communicating science and understanding public knowledge are key aspects of Ximena’s work, hence her leadership and collaborations in food citizen science research and public engagement projects such as “Take a Bite out of Climate Change”. Ximena is also champion of the STFC Food Network +

Connect with Ximena by Linkedin , Research Gate and learn more about her work here.

About Us

ESKE aims to develop and disseminate an adaptable and effective knowledge exchange model of practice that takes full advantage of digital platforms to enable engagement with students and staff in partner universities and in local community settings. This is done as a mechanism to develop transformative building blocks for cooperative learning and knowledge exchanges. Activities taking place in-country provide the opportunity to learn from communities, gain an appreciation of indigenous knowledge and insights into the challenges of particular settings, engage in mutually enriching discussions allowing cultural, knowledge and skill sharing across students and local communities promoting collaborative thinking to address agreed issues.

The project’s knowledge exchange (KE) model is designed to support students from all backgrounds to reach their individual and collective potential especially with respect to sustainable development. KE activities that involve such a collaborative learning methodology will help to increase self-efficacy, cultural intelligence, leadership and professional skills as well as benefit students’ academic achievements. These ‘softer’ skillsets are key challenges – the ‘missing middle’ in ESKE’s theory of change, that often restrict individual students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, from excelling during and following higher education. The opportunity to engage with students from Copperbelt University and the University of Zambia is a critical component of ESKE providing the opportunity to examine social issues in both the UK and Zambia through ‘the gaze’ of a global south or north perspective, UK students will gain new insight into social institutions and structures.