EWB's ‘Making an Impact’ Summit celebrates the work of students across Australia and New Zealand
Annual event held at EWB's new home, The Dream Factory in Footscray
For the second year running, university students from across Australia and New Zealand came together for the EWB Challenge Finalist Showcase and the Humanitarian Engineering Research Symposium to celebrate their achievements at the ‘Making an Impact Summit’. Held at the Dream Factory in Footscray, over 130 participants from across the EWB network gathered to share and explore how ‘technical disciplines can and are making a positive impact in the world’.
EWB Challenge Finalists Showcase – the top student design ideas of 2016
The EWB Challenge is a design program for first-year university students to build skills in design, teamwork and communication through participation in real world community development projects. The 2016 program partnered with UNHCR Zambia and focused on design ideas for the Mayukwayukwa Refugee Settlement.
The EWB Challenge Finalist Showcase is where high achieving university teams present the design ideas they developed during the 2016 EWB Challenge. Representatives from the top 14 student teams were invited to present to their peers and a panel of judges that included EWB Challenge Partners and community representatives: Arifur Rahman-UNHCR Zambia, Justin Munyaka – field professional in Mayukwayukwa, Andrew Clafton – BHP Billiton, and Jenny Turner – EWB Australia.
In 2016, the winning teams were:
- EWB Challenge Champion Team – Charles Sturt University team for ‘Creating a Composting Solution’ – read their full report
- BHP Billiton Award for Most Sustainable Design and Best Community Engagement – University of Melbourne team for ‘H.E.R.’ – read their full report
- People’s Choice Award (voted at event) – University of Melbourne team for ‘H.E.R.’
EWB would also like to congratulate the other finalists teams and their designs. These included:
- Central Queensland University – ‘Shelter’
- Flinders University – ‘Improving Soil Quality through Biochar’
- RMIT – ‘Zeer Pot Project’
- University of Adelaide – ‘Composting Program to Manage Organic Waste’
- University of Canberra – ‘Computers in Schools’
- University of Canterbury – ‘Efficient Preservation of Food’
- University of New South Wales – ‘A Solution for Iron Concentration in Water’
- University of the Sunshine Coast – ‘Riding Toward a Sustainable Future’
- University of Sydney – ‘Lifasi Learning’ and ‘SHAKA Irrigation’
- University of Queensland – ‘Yellow Water Reuse’
- University of Western Australia – ‘A Solution to Plastic Bottle Waste and Pit Latrine Collapse’
To learn more about the EWB Challenge Program, visit: www.ewbchallenge.org/
EWB gratefully acknowledges BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities for its sponsorship of the 2016 EWB Challenge Program.
The Humanitarian Engineering Research Symposium – research for real world challenges
EWB's Research program provides students and universities the opportunity to study and design solutions to opportunities and challenges identified by our community partners. EWB’s research initiatives engage community organisations, university students, academics and research institutions in collaborative, innovative projects that address poverty, inequality and sustainability.
The 2016 Humanitarian Engineering Research Symposium provided students the chance to showcase their work as part of EWB’s final year research program. Students presented their findings from the last year in a series of workshops focused on the core themes of energy, WASH, shelter, assistive technology and education. The day was summarised by one participant as “a must attend event for researchers in humanitarian engineering and appropriate technology.” These projects have the potential to be further studied in the field or included in EWB’s future work.
To learn more about EWB’s Research Program, visit: www.ewb.org.au/research
Thank you to all our participants who contributed to a fantastic event filled with inspiring conversations!
More photos and videos of the event will be posted in the coming weeks.