Swansea University has launched a new MSc Psychology Scholarship to research the impact of large sporting events on the environment.

Hosting large events is big business, worth >£40 billion in the UK alone. However the event industry has a high environmental impact and there is an increasing drive to reduce this. For example, in the entertainment industry, Coldplay has pledged to reduce their emissions by 50%. 

If we are to move towards a sustainable society, engineers and social scientists need to work together to ensure that technology developments are effective in reducing environmental impacts. This project will give the successful applicant the opportunity to build skills in both disciplines.  

The project will involve work with Front Runner (the organiser of the Swansea Half Marathon) to measure the environmental impact using life cycle assessment (LCA) of the event, and the effect of changes made by the organiser to make the event more sustainable.   

The research will also measure competitors and sponsors’ reaction to these changes in order to support consequential life cycle analysis of the changes.

This is a high-profile project with the opportunity to share the outcomes of the research to a wide audience, and could influence sporting event decision-making further afield.

The scholarship will begin in July, and applications should be made through the link below before 15 May 2024.