Meet the 2021 Wege Prize Winners

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Still image of the Wege Prize 2021 Judges Forum. “In the Judges Forum, members of the teams eligible for the Wege Prize 2021 Final Contest, competition judges, and members of the public have been invited to join this discussion. Open summarizing the solutions provided by Final Tea.

in March Student teams from around the world have reached the final stage of the 2021 Wege Prize Student Competition. The international competition invites young designers, scientists, engineers and innovators to tackle pressing global problems and “intractable problems” and help provide them with solutions.

The competition shares, “Winning teams, who share a US$30,000 portfolio and achieve broad visibility for their ideas, come from Chile, Costa Rica, Ghana, Malawi and Tanzania. Students presented their ideas in a live online event culminating in a nine-month competitive process supported by expert judges.”

The annual Design Challenge, organized by Ferris University’s Kendall College of Art and Design (KCAD), has announced this year’s Wege Prize winners.

See the winning design teams below.

1Street Put the winner ($15,000) – AgriTrade Hub

Wege Award Winners – AgriTrade Hub. Photo courtesy of Wege Prize 2021

Representative Institutions: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Energy and Natural Resources, University of Ghana and University of the Earth in Costa Rica
Specialties represented: Life sciences, agricultural sciences, natural resource management, geoengineering and political science والعلوم

Sort: To address the dire problem of increased logging in Ghana, which generates waste wood and sawdust (approximately 97,000 metric tons annually) and poor waste disposal management, the team’s solution proposes turning wood waste into nutrient-based substrates for mushroom production, which leads to fungi fertilization and cultivation forests and ornamental trees, thus eliminating all forms of wood waste and mitigating environmental impacts.

2second abbreviation Place the winner ($10,000) – Sutote

Runner-up to Wege-Sutote. Photo courtesy of Wege Prize 2021

Representative Institutions: EARTH University in Costa Rica, University of Nkhoma in Malawi, Hubert Kairuki Memorial University, and Water Institute in Tanzania

Specialties represented: Medicine, Business Administration, Agricultural Sciences, Natural Resources Management, Water Resources and Irrigation Engineering

SortSynthetic pesticides are a pernicious problem worldwide, which are extremely harmful to health and the environment. In Tanzania, pesticide residues have been detected in irrigation water samples, and this team is devising a closed-loop production system for tomatoes using organic pesticides from Mexican sunflower (Tithonia Diversifolia).

3rd Place Winner ($5000) – Chilensis

Wege 3rd Place Winners – Chilensis Prize. Photo courtesy of Wege Prize 2021

Representative Institutions: Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and University of Santiago de Chile
Specialties represented: Integrated design, physical engineering, chemical engineering, business administration

Sort: With overcrowding already a fierce problem in Santiago, Chile, the 2020 pandemic has exacerbated the impact. Chilensis develops sound insulation using palm leaf waste to improve quality of life by providing privacy. Old palm fronds are treated as waste, but they have excellent sound insulation properties and help meet the challenge while creating a circular economic opportunity.

Honorable Mention – Finalists

Musana’s team, which includes all Ugandan students, has directly addressed the issue of using wood to power cook stoves, which contributes to more than 80% of biomass fuel use and large-scale deforestation in Uganda. This team is helping solve this ominous problem by creating a stove that uses solar energy and water for cooking, eliminating the need for firewood and helping reduce deforestation in Uganda. In addition, its solution includes a model for the purchase or repair of used stoves for the reuse of raw materials.

Spa on With students from Ghana and Tanzania, he addresses the problem of high-waste cashew apples that cause bed bugs and the environmental and economic problems of local farmers in Ghana. The team solved this sinister problem by adding value to cashew apples by turning the fruit into wine, juice and fertilizer, generating income and jobs from waste, and improving food security and economic growth in the country.

In addition to celebrating this year’s winners, the Wege Prize has announced that it will be extended for another five years. With the continued financial support of the Wege Foundation, the Wege Prize from 2022 to 2026 will once again be available to any undergraduate or graduate student in the world and will focus on developing a circular economy. New in 2022, the Wege Prize has been extended for another five years of competition, with a new growth plan to double the prize portfolio to a total of $65,000.

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Premio ways.

The Wege Prize was established in 2013 to solve the most complex and layered problems. Competition requires teams of people who can work through the barriers that often divide people to drive change throughout the system. The KCAD Award provides a powerful and accessible platform for any university student or college in the world to develop tangible solutions that often find acceptance and application in the real world after the competition ends.

More information about the Wege Award click here.