To celebrate International Day of Education on 24 January, this blog looks at how sports can play a role in helping to educate people around the world, particularly young people. According to the UN, youth make up more than half of the global population and are a powerful engine for innovation, social change, and sustainable development. Yet many still face persistent barriers to a prosperous future, so sports can help remove those barriers and invest in youth and education.
Desert Vipers Schools Programme
It is important to start education from a young age, particularly in relation to sport. Many athletes today started playing their sport when they were very young. For this reason, Desert Vipers runs a Schools Programme which teaches basic cricket for free to 8-13 year olds at schools across the UAE and India.
However, this programme has a special twist: it combines sustainability education with cricket skills. For example, during the bowling minigame, stumps are replaced with single-use plastic bottles and Bluewater’s reusable bottles, and students are taught to aim to bowl-out the single-use plastic bottles, reinforcing the belief that pointless plastic is unnecessary in a fun minigame. In this way, students who learn through doing are taught about sustainable behaviours, creating a long-lasting impact.
Educating About Nature
A connection to nature is another gateway to sustainable behaviour change. Because of this, Desert Vipers run a BioBlitz – a race against time to record and upload as many species of nature as possible. This BioBlitz, supported by Nature Wave, takes cricket fans into local areas and teaches them about the importance of nature, before the fans record species using technology. Building on the success with our first BioBlitz in January 2025 at JA The Resort, the recent 2025 UAE – India BioBlitz, Powered by Styrex | Fuelre4m, recorded a whopping 641 species across 1,961 observations, and included 103 participants.
As well as in-person community engagement, sports teams have the opportunity to educate the millions of fans watching on TV. At the Season 4 Desert Vipers Sustainability Match, our team wore a special jersey featuring the ‘Global Biodiversity Stripes’, which were designed by Professor Miles Richardson from the University of Derby. The stripes show how, since 1970, global wildlife populations have declined by 73%. This, coupled with the message ‘WITHOUT NATURE THERE IS NO SPORT’ on the LED boards, aimed to educate millions of viewers around the world about the importance of protecting and restoring nature.
Providing Opportunities – Desert Vipers
As well as educating people, it is important that sports organisations provide opportunities for people to use their education. At Desert Vipers, we are proud to offer internships to students who have recently completed their academic studies, developing a career pathway. Our first intern was Ben Hardy-Jones, who is now our Business Sustainability Lead, and our second intern, Yoganand Malligorai Kannan, is currently nearing the completion of his six-month Sustainability and Community Internship. Stay tuned for the next blog which will be about Yoga’s internship experience!
Our Partnership with Middlesex University Dubai also creates opportunities for young people. For example, the Desert Vipers are offering Middlesex University Dubai students the chance to train with elite cricket coaches, gaining first-hand experience in high performance, strength and conditioning, and various aspects of athletic development. The collaboration also includes a link to the London Sports Institute in Dubai, creating new pathways for students across the UAE and UK.
Providing Opportunities – Carbon Happy World
Equally at Carbon Happy World, education matters, and bringing on the stars of tomorrow is essential. We’ve always felt that the most exciting talent and innovations don’t have to come from halfway across the world from places like Silicon Valley. In fact, we’re finding that the best people and their ideas are often sitting right on our doorstep, waiting in our local university classrooms.
We’ve made a conscious choice to put a ‘local-first’ stamp on our recruitment policy, and honestly, it’s one of the things we’re most proud of as a Liverpool-based company. A huge part of this mission is anchored by our strategic partnership with the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moore’s University. We’re actively recruiting high-calibre AI and Data graduates from the local talent pool, ensuring that the brilliant minds nurtured right here in the city have an opportunity to change the world without packing their bags.
A direct result of this pipeline of talent is the development of our AI capabilities and the next generation AI Carbon Happy Tracker, which helps businesses and sports organisations, like Desert Vipers, to monitor their carbon footprint.
This isn’t just a piece of software we bought off the shelf, it was built from the ground up with the help of these very recruits. Our local graduates have played a massive role in coding the algorithms and refining the data models that make the tracker so effective.
Tom Jepson, Sustainability Data Analyst and one of our first graduate recruits, shares his thoughts, “I was fortunate enough to move almost directly from university into a professional role. I frequently hear of other graduates experiencing repetitive, mind-numbing training programmes, but this could not have been further from my experience. I have been trusted with a level of responsibility that is uncommon in a typical graduate role.
Within my first year, I have assisted in the development of our reporting software; represented the company at the Bridge AI annual showcase in London; worked directly with clients; and even conducted interviews for student internship positions. These experiences have accelerated my professional development, exposing me to environments and responsibilities not typically encountered so early in a career.
I was also particularly pleased to begin my professional career in Liverpool, a city I am proud to call home. Being able to contribute locally made the transition into employment even more rewarding and strengthened my motivation to contribute positively both to the company and the wider community.”
Like Desert Vipers, Carbon Happy World are showing how strategic partnerships with local universities can result in enormous benefits for place, people, and business.
Sustainability Spotlight – Middlesex University Dubai
This blog’s Sustainability Spotlight features Middlesex University Dubai, our Elite Sport Performance & Academic Research Partner. Middlesex University Dubai is Dubai’s largest UK university with more than 6,400 students from over 120 countries. Middlesex University Dubai is a forward-thinking, dynamic, and 5-star KHDA rated university, known for innovation, academic excellence, and impactful research. This makes them the perfect partner for Desert Vipers, and we’re excited to develop the next generation of athletes and leaders together.
About Carbon Happy World
At Carbon Happy World, we’re dedicated carbon accountants and ESG software consultants. We empower businesses to measure, manage, and significantly reduce carbon emissions. By providing a range of innovative solutions and insights, we help organisations achieve their carbon net zero goals and genuinely enhance their sustainability practices. As at Carbon Happy World every calculation starts a conversation.
