Engineering for People Design Challenge grand finals: the results

The Engineering for People Design Challenge teaches students about the importance of ethical, culturally sensitive and appropriate engineering.

It was an exciting and closely fought competition. In the morning, teams showcased their design solutions to a panel of experts.

Six teams went through to the final round to compete for the grand prize, a £2,000 educational bursary. They came from Birmingham City University, Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Brighton, the University of Coventry, the University of Glasgow and the University of Portsmouth.

The team from the University of Glasgow took the top prize with their excellent idea to use the thermal energy produced during cooking to power small portable devices such as mobile phones. The team proposed a thermoelectric generator belt that wrapped around traditional Jiko stoves commonly used in Kibera, where this year’s challenge was set.

The Manchester Metropolitan University team were runners up with their idea of a water filter made locally using clay and ground coffee husks.

The team from the University of Coventry won the people’s prize, as voted for by all attendees, with Safelite, a self-sufficient lighting and bollard system.

Special thanks to our judges, who came from Kounkuey Design Initiative, The Royal Academy of Engineering, The Department for International Development, The Institute of Chemical Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover, Arup, Arconic Engineering Solutions, Buro Happold, Energy Saving Trust, Pryce and Myers, UCL and the University of Cambridge.

Thanks also to our speakers, our volunteers, Steve Cross for brilliantly hosting the day, our partner Kounkuey Design Initiative and Think Up for their excellent workshop.

And thanks to our programme sponsors Anglo American, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, Arconic Foundation and the Department for International Development. Without their generous support this programme would not be possible.