Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, launches Go Green in the City 2019, its annual global student contest to find bold ideas and innovative solutions for smarter, more energy-efficient and sustainable cities.
Now in its ninth year, Go Green in the City is a major event for business and engineering students worldwide. In 2018, over 24,000 young innovators from more than 3,000 universities in 163 countries took part, including 58% women. The stakes for Go Green in the City competitors are high. Not only do the competitors get a chance to make an impact in powering the digital economy, they also get a chance to win an international trip to Schneider Electric’s Global Innovation Summit 2019, a 2-day event on October 2-3, 2019, in Barcelona (Spain). This prestigious event will bring together Schneider Electric experts and world-leading industry thinkers to share insights and bold ideas on the challenges and opportunities of Powering the Digital Economy. Students will have opportunities to be connected and be mentored by industry experts, ultimately to work for Schneider Electric.
Sustainability and Technology working together
In 2019, the competition should attract even more interest, thanks to the four specific topic categories. Students are invited to submit their bold ideas in one of the four categories: “Buildings of the Future,” “Plants of the Future,” “Grids of the Future,” and “Sustainability and Access to Energy.”
The challenges are connected to Schneider Electric’s sustainable business strategy and reflect the company’s commitment with UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), inviting students to share ideas to reshape the future and show a more effective side of sustainability: the connection of the social and environmental impacts with technology and the business world.
Olivier Blum, Global Chief Human Resources Officer at Schneider Electric commented, “The young generation today face considerable challenges in creating a bright future for themselves. Achieving a sustainable world future is only possible when empowering young people and helping them to become a driving force for innovation. I am proud that Go Green in the City has become a platform for students to develop their ideas for a better tomorrow.”
An ever-learning journey for students
In 2018, De La Salle University-Manila students Don Emmanuel Santamaria and Fae Nicole Serrano claimed the Philippine country finals with their E-Hub Project. Their award-winning mobile application was designed to be a platform that lets users invest and donate on renewable energy projects, project developers propose ideas and initiatives and set-up crowdfunding and be an e-store to buy and sell products related to green energy.
Santamaria and Serano’s local success marks the first back-to-back Go Green in the City Philippine Country Finals win for the university. In 2017, DLSU-Manila students Iliana Benice Tan and Aaron Jules Del Rosario won the competition and secured the first runner-up spot in the regional finals for their Glass X project. Glass X is a design that absorbs the heat being received by building from the sun and converts it into energy for a building’s own cooling system.
Go Green in the City Filipino teams have consistently been placing in the regional and global finals from 2014 to 2017. In 2013, the Philippine team composed of Ateneo De Manila University students Alyssa Vintola and Lorenz Payonga won the global finals in Paris, France wowing the judges with their Oscillation Hump or “Oscillohump” project. The Oscillohump was designed to harvest energy from road humps through electromagnetic induction. When vehicles encounter an Oscillohump, they press springs which plunge magnets into solenoids, generating enough power to charge a battery. The battery can then be used to power DC loads like LED street lamps, traffic lights or closed-circuit television (CCTV) while excess energy can be used for power grids. In 2015, John Paul Santos and Christian Sta. Romana from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines grabbed the third prize of the global competition with their Electrifilter project, which generates electricity as it cleanses waste water.
Rochelle Bulan, Project Lead, Go Green in the City Philippines, and Talent Acquisition and Employer Branding Country Manager, Schneider Electric Philippines shared: “With the new categories for this year’s competition, we really want to see how far students can take their imagination as they use technology to power their ideas and help Schneider Electric transform cities, reshape industries and enrich lives. With DLSU taking securing back-to-back wins, we want to see how students this year will shake up the competition.”
Teams must be composed of two students attending accredited business, engineering, physics, computer science, mathematics, and other sciences schools. They must be from the same country or region for the duration of the competition. Each team should include at least one female member, in line with Schneider Electric’s policy of promoting Diversity and Inclusion. The deadline for submissions is May 25th, 2019.
