Engineers Without Borders UK, part of an international movement putting global responsibility at the heart of engineering, has announced the UK and Ireland winners of the Engineering for People Design Challenge 2022/2023.
The Engineering for People Design Challenge is an international venture organised jointly by Engineers Without Borders South Africa and UK in conjunction with educators. The awards are open to first- and second-year undergraduates as a mandatory part of their degree course. The aim is to encourage budding engineers to broaden their awareness of the social, environmental, and economic implications of their engineering solutions.
Participants this year were asked to consider the engineering challenges and opportunities found in Govan, an area with a rich history, heritage and physical landscape situated on the waterfront of the River Clyde in the Southwest of Glasgow, Scotland.
And the winners are…
Beating tough competition from more than 30 participating university teams, the winning project from University of Greenwich impressed the judges with their concept: ‘Health Pod’, which aims to tackle food insecurity and inaccessibility to healthcare in Govan. The winners receive a Grand Prize of a £1000 educational bursary.
Tom Whitehead, Programme Activities Coordinator for Engineers Without Borders UK, commented: “This project perfectly represented the ethos of the design challenge. The team considered how one space could be used to meet multiple challenges facing the area, giving great thought to the needs of the diverse community in Govan.”
With their innovative design for a hydroelectrically-powered greenhouse space, the team from Manchester Metropolitan University secured second prize. Judges praised the team’s consideration of the local geography in the development of the design, and particularly liked that the team had given thought to how food could be distributed to the community using e-bikes.
The Peoples’ Prize, which was voted on by the public, went to Nottingham Trent University for their design to implement aeroponics (a smart farming technique) using shipping containers.
The runner-up and the People’s Prize winners will each receive a £500 educational bursary to share between their teams.
Community collaboration
The design brief for the Engineering for People Design Challenge is developed in collaboration with a different community partner each year, to ensure a holistic view of the community being presented. This year’s partner was Govan Community Project, an organisation founded as a community response to the needs of people seeking asylum in Glasgow. They work in Southwest Glasgow to achieve social justice in the Greater Govan area by building a strong community based on equality, mutual respect, support, and integration.
John Kraus, Chief Executive Officer of Engineers without Borders UK said: “This year was particularly special. For the first time, the Grand Finals and awards took place in the home city of our community partner. More than ever before, students could experience first-hand the place where their designs and engineering skills could really make a difference.”
Now in its twelfth year, the Design Challenge has been delivered in South Africa, Cameroon, the UK, Ireland and the USA, to more than 70,000 students.
