From November 11 to 16, ten finalist teams from the USA, China, Germany, Algeria, Indonesia, Brazil, India, Spain, Canada and Vietnam competed in the finals of the 2018 Go Green in the City, an international student case study competition focusing on innovative energy solutions for smart cities, in Atlanta, USA.
Doan Thi Thu Ha (left) and Nguyen Thi Thanh - the winners of the Women in Business Award
Using slides and videos, the two-member teams presented their ideas to a panel of Schneider Electric executives and technical experts, and the three best teams won valuable awards. The “Latent Innovations” team from the Pan-African Institute of Water and Energy Sciences in Algeria came first, the DTU Energy Loop team of Doan Thi Thu Ha and Nguyen Thi Thanh from Vietnam won the special prize for an all female team - the “Women in Business Award”; and the GLAMM team from Germany won the Social Star award.
The Women in Business Award recognized the talented and innovative female DTU students in international competition, demonstrating the increasing gender equality in Technology and Engineering.
Innovative ideas for Environmental Protection
The 2018 Go Green in the City finals exhibited several excellent products, including “A spatial recognition and thermographic device for commercial facilities”, by the Enginerds team from the US; “Direct hydrogenation of CO2 into methanol” by the Ecocan team from Canada; “An app that helps connect people to the recyclable materials market”, by the Recyclin team from Brazil; “Sustainability and inclusivity”, by the Bicify team from Spain; “An economical, silent cooling roof to provide domestic heating and cooling and hot water”, by the Light of WHUT team from China; “An incentive driven smart waste management system”, by the BITS Pilani team from India; “An organic photovoltaic greenhouse system to increase crop production”, by the Latent Innovations team from Algeria, “A smart memory alloy for reliable solar panel tracks”, by the RISE team from Indonesia; “A smart lighting mesh network”, by GLAMM Team from Germany and “A regenerative braking system that converts friction into electricity”, by the DTU Energy Loop team from Vietnam.
Nguyen Thi Thanh (third on the right) and Doan Thi Thu Ha (fourth on the right) pose for a picture with Go Green in the City 2018 contestants in America
The concept of converting brake friction into electrical energy came naturally to the DTU Energy Loop team. On motorbike trips to remote areas, they needed to contact their relatives or search Google maps, but their smartphone batteries kept running out. They then realized that motorbike brakes generate heat, due to friction with the wheel, and the team wanted to benefit from this.
The system consists of three main components: the brake lines, a dynamo and an accumulator, installed on the brake pads of the motorbike. When the rider brakes, friction activates the dynamo and generates electricity, which is then stored in the accumulator, conserving a substantial amount of energy for later use.
Doan Thi Thu Ha (left) and Nguyen Thi Thanh at Danang airport
Dr. Vo Thanh Hai, DTU Vice-Provost, (fourth on the right) and DTU lecturers welcoming the DTU Energy Loop team at Danang airport
Doan Thi Thu Ha said: “We were well supported by our Electrical Engineering lecturers at DTU to develop a high-quality, practical product. Vietnam and other ASEAN countries still depend heavily on motorbikes, so widespread adoption of our system would allow us to save energy in times when electricity production is dwindling. Our idea will also contribute to the protection of the environment. We want to prove that, with patience, women can equally develop creative, effective and successful solutions in a variety of fields.”
With offices in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric is the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation with its commitment to improving workplace diversity and inclusivity.
Besides winning cash prize, Doan Thi Thu Ha and Nguyen Thi Thanh got a fully sponsored trip to the USA to pitch their ideas in the Finals and visit Schneider Electric’s offices.
The global winning team received a job offer at Schneider Electric after they graduate, in addition, a fully sponsored trip around the world to two Schneider Electric offices.
|
- Now in its eighth year, Go Green in the City has become a major event for business and engineering students worldwide. This year, the competition saw more than 24,000 young innovators (a record for the competition) from 3,190 universities in 163 countries participate. (including 58% women).
- DTU students won Championships of the National Go Green in the City for three consecutive years, and progressing to the Global finals, for the first time.
- Winning one of the three valuable prizes of Go Green in the City 2018, DTU students brought honor not only to Schneider Electric Vietnam, but to the entire Asia - Pacific region where DTU is one of the two teams taking part in the contest.
|
(Media Center)