Engineers Without Borders launches 10th Engineering for People Design Challenge

The unique competition engages first and second-year university students to consider the social, economic and environmental impact of their engineering by inviting them to propose a solution that could be applied to a real life problem, positively impacting the local community.

Now in its tenth year, the Challenge has reached over 41,500 undergraduate students to date. Already embedded in the undergraduate curriculum at dozens of UK universities, the 2019/20 instalment was extended to reach more than 7,000 students over three continents.

The 2020/21 Design Challenge focuses on the neighbouring communities of Lobitos and Piedritas on the northern coast of Peru. An increasingly popular tourist spot due to the excellent surfing conditions in the region. The two towns still experience significant challenges in regards to sustainable waste management, energy, food and water supply, digital communications and transport infrastructure.

COVID-19 has placed further pressure on communities already struggling to access the economic benefits that the growing tourism industry offers through employment, investment and direct tourist spending. 

Working with EcoSwell, a local charity established by surfers to support coastal communities to reach the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the 2020/21 competition will encourage students to consider the sustainability challenges and opportunities of ecotourism to the settlements that support it.

Academics from each institution will review their students’ submissions with the top five from each university going forward to be judged by industry volunteers. The best team from each participating university will then be invited to present their solutions at the Grand Finals in a bid to win the Grand Prize of a educational bursary. The runner-up and the People's Prize winners will also receive an educational bursary to share between them.

Andres Bustamante, Director of rketing and Public Relations at EcoSwell, said: “This is our second time participating in the Engineering for People Design Challenge and we could not be more thrilled, as our first experience was fantastic. The quality of innovative and well thought out project ideas, which grasped the local context of our region, was inspiring and extremely useful for us. In 2019, we implemented the winning project proposed in the 2016/17 Challenge and it is now improving the lives of over a thousand people in Lobitos."

"We are very excited to see what the students are capable of considering the extremely challenging circumstances we are facing with the COVID-19 pandemic. This terrible tragedy has also created an opportunity to rethink societies, economies, and our relationship with the environment. Truly understanding this current context, the local culture and way of life, will be key for designing viable and impactful solutions. I believe the students will rise to the occasion"

Emma Crichton, Head of Engineering at Engineers Without Borders UK, said: “Our real life design project provides a platform for students to truly understand how to develop engineering skills with a globally responsible mindset and place people at the heart of their designs.

“The 2020/21 challenge is set to be unique due to the context of COVID-19 and the teams will be working in step with the wider engineering community in their attempts to deliver sustainable solutions to ongoing issues during a pandemic.

“Lobitos and Piedritas hosted one of our challenges back in 2016 - so it will be fascinating to see how students approach their designs four years on from the previous activity in this region.

“I look forward to seeing how the teams will rise to the challenge and demonstrate how engineering can be a force for reducing inequality, protecting the environment and improving the lives of people all over the world.”

You can sign up for the Engineering for People Design Challenge 2020/21, here.