On Monday 5 August, the ACT Engineers Without Borders (EWB) challenge final was held. The four projects were judged by a panel of experts to decide on a winner that would move onto the next round.
The ACT winners were team 2A, consisting of first-year ANU undergraduate students Lyle Halliday, Grayson Horne, Jacob Moore, James Noble, Cesar Encalada and Edward Callander.
The challenge is designed to give students the opportunity to learn about design, teamwork and communication by developing inspiring and sustainable cross-cultural development projects. More than 10,000 first-year engineering students from universities across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom took part in the program this year.
2013’s competition focused on issues facing the locals of the Lautem District in East Timor. Engineers Without Borders and Plan Timor Leste worked together to identify a range of areas for growth that will have implications both within the district and for the community as a whole.
Students could submit projects into one of seven categories including:
- Infrastructure and construction
- Water supply and sanitation systems
- Energy
- Waste management
- Transportation
- Information communication technologies
- Climate change
The team’s winning project looked at the development of a water supply and filtration system to be used in the rural village of Codo in Timor-Leste. Their aim was to create a design that is sustainable, consists mostly of biodegradable materials, is affordable for the village, easy to maintain, and is effective and practical when compared to current water distribution methods. The water filtration system consisted of two main parts, a series of bamboo pipes treated with slaked lime and silicone rubber jointing, and a container that provides constant filtration of incoming water.
The team will now go on to represent the ACT as the national showcase, which will be held later this year at the EWB National Conference.
The challenge is coordinated by EWB Australia and partners with universities across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
To find out more information about Engineers Without Borders Australia and the Engineering Challenge visit their website.