WATCH: 'Powerful ideas' from UHI students will help Invergordon Distillery in sustainability bid

HIGHLAND students will have the chance to work with one of the biggest distilleries in the region after developing initiatives to make whisky-making more sustainable.

This week 17 students from the University of Highlands and Islands presented their ideas at the Inverness college to help improve environmental practices at Invergordon Distillery, which the company will aim to integrate in the coming months.

The initiative comes as part of the Fuel Change Challenge, which saw the students visiting the distillery, learning about the whisky-making process ad what the challenges are before developing solutions to key issues in groups over the course of 18 weeks.

Shane Healy, Distilling Director at Whyte & Mackay, said: "What is key to remember is whisky making is approaching 200 years of history, but in that time it has always been an industry that embraces innovation. What was super about the FuelChange challenge was the excitement the teams demonstrated for creating innovative solutions for our industry, and their belief that there are actions we can all take to address the climate challenge we face.

"Every project had powerful ideas, which we will look to action. When assessing the presentations, the Eco Lighting and Bio Char initiatives, stood out for their understanding of our context as a manufacturer, and were very well thought through.

"We will now translate the ideas to action, within the next 12 months. It was fantastic to get a fresh perspective on long-standing challenges, that help us move forward on our sustainability journey."

Fuel Change aims to connect businesses across the Highlands and Scotland with young talent to bring innovative solutions to help tackle climate change.

Director of community with Fuel Change, Gavin Tweedy, said after the presentation: "I am constantly impressed by the enthusiasm that young people have for tackling sustainability problems and the climate crisis.

"The fact that Whyte & Mackay asked to soe of the students to stay on and work with them to implement their ideas is a wonderful outcome."

Jack Marley McIntyre, STEM coordinator at UHI Inverness, said: “UHI Inverness has been glad to join Whyte & Mackay in this first Fuel Change spotlight challenge in the Highlands. We are excited to see the developments our students have researched and created to solve sustainable and circular economic problems as part of their courses. We have a firm commitment to Net Zero and sustainability on campus and having students who are passionate about these issues is inspiring".

Nadia Johal, a mechanical electrical apprentice at UHI Inverness, said: “It’s been an exciting build up to the final Fuel Change presentations with my team finally being able to show our practical solutions to Whyte & Mackay’s sustainability issues and to gain first place after all that hard work! We wanted to show that not only did we research these issues and do experiments we developed and created actual solutions which we presented to the audience! It’s our passion for solving big problems that brought us here today, and I’m glad that Whyte & Mackay, and Fuel Change were able to see and celebrate the great things we accomplished.”

Alfie Poole, an engineering systems HNC-Next Gen student, said: "As an aspiring engineer, being part of the Highland's first Fuel Change challenge has been a great experience. I’ve learned more about concepts such as the circular economy, sustainability and how they relate to my studies. Through Fuel Change I was given the opportunity to lead a team and speak at a few Highland conferences, which were amazing experiences! It was exciting to finally present our solutions to Whyte & Mackay and to hear that they are being implemented was fantastic!"

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