SIDDHANGANA
CHILKOTI

Future of Sustainability,
Youth Advocate

Siddhangana Chilkoti is an enthusiastic student who is eager to solve real-world challenges through innovation inspired by nature. She goes by Sidd for her family and friends. Sidd enjoys creating new concepts that are aligned with sustainability goals, such as designing a turbine from the shape of a flower and making the school uniform eco-friendly. She is currently the chairman of her school's Eco Committee and founder of her school’s first eco-newsletter. As an advocate for marine conservation, she seeks to make a tangible impact on ocean conservation through joining initiatives such as UN World Oceans Day

As Siddhangana descended into the blue sapphire sea in Bali, she clearly remembers every detail. It was serene yet silent despite being filled with creatures of all shapes and sizes. However, the plastics and debris greatly saddened her. It left a deep emotional connection and sparked her curiosity to protect the oceans and waters. Upon return, she felt compelled to raise awareness about ocean and environment preservation and initiated a range of activities and hands-on actions. 

As the chairman of the Eco Committee, she started with small activities such as litter picking, installing green pots in classrooms for clean air and gradually moving to collaborations for making the school uniform more eco friendly (70% biodegradable). She also designed a relief aid for areas prone to natural disasters for an engineering competition. Using biomimicry, she constructed a favorable design for a turbine from the shape of a flower. These flower turbines would then be attached to tents or any surface to catch wind and generate electricity. It was this project that opened her up to the world of sustainability and endless possibilities from nature’s design. 

Sidd’s A-level subjects are Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths and Physics. Through her academic rigor and fascination for the world of Chemistry, she was awarded a Silver award for the UK Chemistry Olympiad (aimed for Year 13). 

Looking ahead, Ocean Conservation is a really important issue which has been a "tomorrow's" problem for everyone. She wants to make everyone aware of how even the smallest change can have a huge impact and how innovation inspired by nature can help solve this challenge.