Five Student Teams Awarded as Finalists in SDSN and Siemens Gamesa’s Universities for SDG13 Competition
The SDSN and Siemens Gamesa partnership to promote youth talent in the fight against climate change continues. Selected student teams move on to the final competition stage with the opportunity to refine and develop their projects, thanks to the dedicated mentoring program.
On 11 July, student teams from around the world participated in the first round of the “Universities for SDG13'' competition. This competition is a collaboration between the SDSN and Siemens Gamesa, a global leader on renewable energy, to promote university talent in the fight against climate change (SDG 13) while enhancing the relevant role of innovation for quality education (SDG 4). Student teams were chosen from six SDSN Network Member institutions: Tsinghua University, China; the Chinese University of Hong Kong; the Nelson Mandela University, South Africa; University of Göttingen, Germany; the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Case Western Reserve University, United States. A total of thirteen student teams presented their final projects in front of a jury composed of experts from the SDSN and Siemens Gamesa.
The students presented solutions which focused on SDG13 (Climate Action), and solutions were considered based on a variety of factors, including their alignment with the SDGs, level of innovation, disruptive potential, and feasibility. Solutions presented covered a range of issues, including innovative carbon reduction technology, the use of 3-D printing to address housing scarcity, new agricultural cultivation methods with community engagement, forest management, biomass systems, and sustainable energy expansion. These projects were developed with mentorship by teaching staff and mentors from Siemens Gamesa, who helped to develop and refine their proposals.
The jury was impressed by the quality and innovation of this year’s submissions. Five finalists were selected to proceed to the next round of the competition at the global level. The five projects moving forward to the final round are:
Reducing Carbon With Carbon – This project, created by students at Shanghai Jiaotong University and selected after a competition organized by Tsinghua University, addresses the issue of graphite waste from lithium batteries, which will represent 32% of all combustion emissions worldwide by 2030. The solution proposes the deployment of graphene-like nanomaterials from spent graphite for carbon reduction, thus changing the original traditional treatment method of incineration, and providing a pollution-free, low-cost, and sustainable method.
Focal point: Zheng Yi, SDG China Hub, and Ada Chan, SDSN Hong Kong.
HotBox – This project, developed by students from Nelson Mandela University in South Africa, provides a controlled environment for agricultural cultivation, while maximizing resource utilization and overcoming the limitations of traditional farming methods. The solution proposes the design of a “HotBox,” similar to a small greenhouse, adapted to the needs of areas with abundant sunshine and high electricity demand. Using the leftover heated steam to produce carbon monoxide is an innovative approach that can increase the efficiency and flexibility of the plant.
Focal point: Yolande Steenkamp, SDSN South Africa, and John Mashayamombe, Nelson Mandela University.
grÜniversity – This project, developed by students from the University of Göttingen, proposes a 360-degree solution for university campuses promoting health, sustainability, biodiversity, and energy security. An easily accessible toolbox and a digital platform will be developed to collect ideas, project planning, and share progress and knowledge. This approach is scalable and adaptable to fit university campuses around the world.
Focal point: Sebastian Vollmer and Marco Lange, Sustainability Office, University of Göttingen.
Amaze: Amazon Biomass Estimator – This project, developed by students at PUC-Rio in Brazil, has designed a web app for monitoring the world’s rainforests biomass with the support of AI. This will allow researchers and managers a better understanding of the health of the forest ecosystem by predicting the effects of climate change, helping manage natural resources and monitor biomass over time, being able to measure its growth or loss, and enabling better-informed decisions about ecosystem health and management.
Focal point: Sidnei Paciornik and Edmar de Almeida, Chemical and Materials Engineering Department, PUC-Rio University.
E-Gora: The Energy Marketplace – This project, created by students at Case Western Reserve University in the USA, seeks to provide a user-friendly platform that allows users to find information quickly and easily about renewable energy projects near them that they can participate in. The project will bridge the gap between the different players in the energy marketplace: bringing consumers, investors, developers, installation companies, financial institutions, lawyers, and other necessary parties together.
Focal point: Grant Goodrich, Great Lakes Energy Institute, CWRU.
This second edition introduced this new feature that consists in requiring the applicants to run SDSN’s “SDG Impact Assessment Tool” and present the resulting report alongside their proposal, with the aim of providing students with an extra opportunity to learn about the SDGs while measuring the potential impact of their proposal.
On September 20, 2023, the winning solution will be announced during an award ceremony taking place alongside SDSN’s International Conference for Sustainable Development (ICSD). The event will be held in New York and will feature dialogue between Jeffrey Sachs, President of SDSN, and Maximilian Schnippering, Head of Sustainability at Siemens Gamesa. Register for the conference to join.
More information about the collaboration between Siemens Gamesa and SDSN