Empowering university students to help accelerate clean energy access globally

13 years ago, I worked on a World Bank rural electrification project that aimed to achieve 100% energy access in Laos. I was impressed by the expertise and determination of the team members, especially their knowledge and the way they built relationships with the local communities. As is still the case in many parts of the world, remote and hard to reach areas are still not connected to the electricity grid. Unfortunately, various communities are still unlikely to gain access for a long time, if ever. However, through that project, a particular village we visited had installed small solar panels, which allowed them to have a lightbulb at home to work for a couple of extra hours after dark. This allowed those living there to sew or craft to sell and earn a living for their families. Switching on a lamp was something that, until then, I took for granted. Seeing how a simple lightbulb could change the lives of those families enlightened me, and since then I have been working with different projects supporting the most vulnerable communities to improve their lives and enhance resilience.

My work interests and aspirations have always included international development and climate/environmental action. Growing up in South East Asia and Europe contributed to my interest in international development. It felt necessary to assist in the more equitable distribution of wealth and opportunity, and international development bodies were the structure in place to do so. When it comes to environmentalism and climate change, how can you refuse the call to action of growing up in the 21^st century? Clean energy access for developing countries sits snugly in that nexus.

Fostering the connections between students and their mentors and watching these partnerships develop. Each mentoring experience is unique, as it depends on the needs of both sides. After the Challenge, some students and mentors keep in contact for potential opportunities. These interactions are what we would like to see more of through the programme. In turn, mentoring could help young generations build skills and expertise, while encouraging them to work towards a better world.

My favourite part of working on the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge, besides the team, of course, is when a learning opportunity we can provide a student matches up with one of their core interests. The prototyping opportunities, particularly with so many engineers in the cohort, is a clear win on that front. Additionally, it’s inspiring to see students with burning questions during or after webinars, and hear students reflect on their time in the Challenge as a whole.

Over the last two years, we have received 37 project submissions, so it’s difficult to pick one. Each team has worked hard to ensure their projects are ground-breaking and use the resources provided by the project, as well the brains and expertise of their mentors. ‘Leaving no one behind’ is one of the assessment framework criteria for submission grading. I am particularly fond of the projects that demonstrate how the students thought about the real-life needs of the people who will use the appliance they are designing, and how their design could improve their lives. As it’s a global competition, some teams understand the context well because it’s something they have close to their hearts.

I found all the projects interesting, maybe because I’m not an engineer and am always wildly impressed by what can be achieved with a university project. I think if I had to choose one design that I found particularly innovative, it would be the ‘Point of use UV water disinfection unit’ by a team from Gulu University in Uganda. Their design could disinfect and filter dirty surface run-off water at a rate of 10 litres an hour – more than any household would likely require. The rate and ease of disinfection alone were amazing to me, but that it could be set up in off-grid areas and disaster situations made it one of my favourites in a year full of awesome design ideas.

Throughout the Challenge, students have to think about all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and how their design contributes towards them. I believe that the more people working in the sector ensuring clean energy is accessible to all, the more sustainable world we will leave for future generations to thrive.

I think opening the door for young people, and showing them that designing products that enable clean energy access is possible and interesting, is powerful. Asking them to go through the full design process, including designing elements of the business model, and with the support of industry experts, provides them with an informed view of what a career in the sector might look like. And if they enjoy the process, perhaps it inspires them to continue this work beyond their university career.

We all make lots of decisions every day: what to wear, what to eat, where to go and how to get there and when to use home appliances. Sometimes that decision making process is automated. Making conscious decisions takes time and effort but it is something we all should be doing if we want a better and fairer world to live in. I try to make conscious decisions at every stage, from buying plastic-free and organic products to asking where the food I buy comes from. I live in a rented flat and can’t install solar panels, but I chose to change my electricity provider to one using renewable energy. I’m determined to reduce my carbon footprint by taking a step at a time to get as close as possible to a sustainable and healthy life.

I think more than life reflecting my work, my work is a reflection of my lifestyle. My work history is a short one, but I’ve had a desire to live a sustainable and compassionate lifestyle for a long time. However, I would say this is continually evolving and we are constantly learning and finding ways in which we can be more sustainable. Working with like-minded people certainly helps accelerate that!