Students from Mozambique, Nigeria, Namibia and Angola gathered at African Power Week (AEW): Spend money on African Energies 2024 (https://AECWeek.com/) in Cape City to current their modern options to real-world power challenges in diamond sponsor ExxonMobil’s STEM Africa Regional Pitch Competitors. This occasion is a part of a broader initiative by the ExxonMobil Basis and Junior Achievement Africa to empower younger minds via training in science, expertise, engineering and arithmetic (STEM).
Launched this yr, the competitors showcased the creativity and problem-solving abilities of highschool college students who travelled from their respective international locations to pitch their tasks to a panel of esteemed judges, together with ExxonMobil Basis President Alvin Abraham, ExxonMobil Angola Managing Director Katrina Fisher and ExxonMobil Mozambique Chairman Frank Kretschmer.
The scholars participated in a rigorous choice course of main as much as the occasion, the place they developed their concepts with mentorship from ExxonMobil workers. Every scholar group offered their distinctive options addressing native power and environmental points, demonstrating the potential of youth-led innovation in reworking Africa’s power panorama.
“We’re happy with this program, which isn’t only a competitors, however a platform for bringing classroom studying to life. Practically 3,000 college students entered and the groups right here labored tirelessly to get right here at present,” famous Abraham.
Simi Nwogugu, President of Junior Achievement Africa, emphasised the significance of such packages in advancing STEM on the continent. “Due to this collaboration with ExxonMobil, we’re in a position to prolong our packages to Lusophone international locations, providing college students very important expertise in STEM whereas constructing their management and presentation abilities.”
The competitors not solely supplies college students with a platform to showcase their concepts but additionally connects them with trade leaders and potential profession alternatives. By taking part on this occasion, college students achieve invaluable cross-cultural publicity and insights into the power sector’s future.
Instituto de Telecomunicações de Luanda in Angola developed and showcased a water remedy and provide system utilizing renewable power. This challenge goals to extract groundwater from the Rangel City District, one of many older and extra urbanized areas in metropolitan Luanda, for home consumption. By using photovoltaic photo voltaic panels, the group proposed that water from the underground water desk is pumped and distilled to be used by native communities.
“We’ve got discovered that there’s an incapacity of the present programs to produce water and that puddles forming because of flooding usually precipitated the proliferation of varied illnesses, primarily malaria,” the scholars famous.
The anticipated affect contains lowered flooding in the course of the wet season and improved group well being via entry to scrub water. “We additionally created a system that manages our knowledge, monitoring the reservoirs and the circulate of water distributed to the communities,” they stated.
Escola Comunitária Sagrada Família, in Mozambique proposed a waste-to-energy initiative that generates electrical energy by burning waste. This challenge will broaden entry to scrub power in rural and concrete areas whereas lowering emissions and creating jobs. The initiative focuses on waste assortment separation and operation of a thermoelectric plant utilizing flamable inorganic waste.
From Namibia, Zizi Filaments from the Delta Secondary Faculty in Windhoek created a machine that transforms plastic waste into 3D-printing filament. This challenge addresses the numerous environmental affect of plastic waste in Namibia, which is estimated to be round 3,000 tons of waste produced per day.
“By repurposing the plastic waste, we are able to create sturdy merchandise reminiscent of customized prosthetics, 3D-printed organs for instructional functions, in addition to producing stationery and glasses. It contributes to plenty of the United Nation’s Sustainable Improvement Objectives (SDG) associated to accountable consumption and local weather motion, together with SDG 12, 13 and 14, which concentrate on accountable consumption and manufacturing, local weather motion and preserving marine life,” the Zizi Filaments group defined.
Lastly, the group from Nigeria, SPP Improvements from the Authorities Secondary Faculty in Wuye, developed eco-friendly Wet Climate Kits produced from recycled plastic waste. This initiative goals to fight plastic air pollution whereas offering communities with important rain gear like raincoats, umbrellas, waterproof luggage and protecting footwear. The SPP Improvements group defined that their program wouldn’t solely promote native employment via coaching artisans in sustainable recycling methods, however it could additionally scale back plastic waste and supply inexpensive, sturdy safety to erratic climate patterns brought on by local weather change.
“This initiative will create a round financial system mannequin, reworking waste into precious sources and selling eco-friendly enterprise practices,” the SPP Innovation group highlighted.
Every of the tasks have been designed not solely to deal with instant environmental and social points but additionally to foster sustainable growth inside their communities by lowering the prevalence of illnesses, creating renewable power sources, creating sustainable jobs and selling accountable consumption and atmosphere stewardship.
This initiative represents a major step in direction of empowering youth throughout Africa in STEM fields and fostering innovation that addresses urgent native challenges. This yr’s AEW: Spend money on African Energies serves as a pivotal second for these younger innovators as they contribute to discussions on sustainable power options that may alleviate power poverty throughout the continent. The winners of the competitors might be introduced on the African Power Awards and Gala Dinner on Tuesday 5 November.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Power Week (AEW).