Competitions in sustainability technology, architecture and design, and lifestyles are in constant need of applicants. There are plenty of rewards out there awaiting the knowledgeable student. Those of you frustrated with the normal day-in, day-out cycles of classes and clubs, do a little search. They’re out there.
Take, for instance, a modification design for a used shipping container that can help with low-income housing. Only participating in an intra-classroom competition, students in the architecture program at Canada College in Redwood City, Calif., gained considerable recognition from the American Institute of Architects. Students applied the basic essentials of home living to convert empty shipping containers into temporary living spaces for the homeless and disaster refugees.
Students at Drexel University won nearly $10,000 for their submission to the Environmental Protection Agency’s People, Prosperity, and the Planet Student Design Competition for Sustainability. The five-member group built upon older research on a two-stage reactor design that converts waste grease and motor oils into usable biodiesel. They are being supported by the EPA to continue research in order to enter the second in a three-phase grant program with the intention of having a working model at the end.
Currently, you can do something smart and eccentric by entering an Oikos International competition currently entitled the Oikos Sustainability Case Writings Competition. Business- and management-related majors are encouraged to pursue this case study competition in which real-world organizations are analyzed. The prize for submitting work by the deadline of November 30, 2008: 5,000 Swiss Francs.
Oikos International also offers a number of other projects and opportunities for students to get involved in. Some are limited, while others are less so, but all can be found at http://www.oikos-international.org/projects.html/.
Here on our own campus, students have the $1,000 opportunity to engage in the Change the World Challenge sponsored through the E*ntrepreneurship program. Students are challenged to develop ideas for projects that can change the world. Submissions need up to three pages of description and an elevator pitch. Once you bang that out, you can send it electronically at http://www.eship.rpi.edu/casestudies_submission.html.
And if that doesn’t tickle your fancy enough, the same office also sponsors the Class of ’51 Entrepreneurship Fund, dedicated to helping fund fresh entrepreneurial ideas. Topped at a nice $5,000, individuals and groups are encouraged to provide a report on the areas they wish to address, how they intend to do it, and whether or not they’ll be able to keep things running in the longer run.
One last head’s up: rumors of a Student Sustainability Task Force-supported contest is in the works and may or may not be around next semester. Keep your ears and eyes open for another chance to gain experience, fame, and maybe some extra dough, all in the name of sustainable opportunities.
