IUB EEE students win Gold in Efficiency for Access Design Challenge UK

A joint team of engineering students from Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) and Makerere University, Uganda, has won Gold in the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge 2022-2023 for their solar-powered automated anaerobic digestion system, which produces cooking gas and crop fertilizers from food waste.

The announcement was made on 15 June, during the grand finale of the competition held virtually from the UK by the organizers, Efficiency for Access Coalition and Engineers Without Borders, UK.

The team comprised Siam Ibne Masud, Eazaz Ahamad and Tarikul Islam Shaikat, all students of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) at IUB. The other members of the team were Proscovia Amviko Adrabo and Mark Mutenga, students of Mechanical Engineering at Makerere University, Uganda.

Photo: Courtesy

Together, they proposed an optimised Bio-Digester for producing affordable commodities which is fully powered by an 85-Watt solar panel. They were supervised by Dr. Khosru Mohammad Salim, Professor at the Department of EEE and Director at IUB's Green Energy Research Centre.

"Our journey began when our supervisor rejected our three proposals for the final year design project, who later suggested that we should look into gas emissions from waste landfills. Our research then led us to a project that could improve air quality by reducing greenhouse gas emissions of kitchen waste landfills and produce organic fertilizer. It has multiple benefits: help people and farmers have easier access to cooking gas and crop fertilizers; prevent trees from being cut down in rural areas; and encourage farmers to use organic fertilizers instead of chemicals, which may result in crop degradation," said team leader Siam Ibne Masud.

"This is a particularly proud moment for me. Winning Gold in this prestigious global competition two years in a row is a massive achievement. Hats off to our students for not just bringing this honor to IUB with their renewable energy-based design, but also for showing full commitment towards IUB's strategic goal of developing every student into environmentally responsible citizens," said Tanweer Hasan, vice chancellor of IUB.

Last year, the team of Md Sadik Abdal and Tashfiah Tahsin, both students of EEE at IUB, and Ali Ahmed and Nour Ben Gaied, both students of City, University of London, UK, won Gold in this competition for their solar-powered cold storage system to preserve fish and other perishable goods.

Funded by UK aid and IKEA Foundation this year, The Efficiency for Access Design Challenge is a global, multi-disciplinary competition that empowers teams of university students to help accelerate clean energy access. The Challenge invites teams of university students to create affordable, high-performing off-grid appliances and enabling technologies.

Efficiency for Access is a global coalition working to promote affordable, high-performing, and inclusive appliances that enable access to clean energy for the world's poorest people. It is a catalyst for change, accelerating the growth of off and weak-grid appliance markets to boost incomes, reduce carbon emissions, improve quality of life, and support sustainable development. It is co-chaired by UK aid and the IKEA Foundation.

The competition aims to foster innovation in the off-grid appliances sector. It also seeks to help address barriers that limit market expansion in this area. Furthermore, the Challenge seeks to forge beneficial partnerships between universities, researchers, and industry partners at a global level. In this way, it will further strengthen academic capacity within the off-grid sector.

Over 100+ students from 9 different countries around the world, 14 universities with 21 teams from Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Sweden, Uganda, the UK and Zimbabwe took part in the competition this year.