Engineering for Change (E4C) and Siemens have announced they are extending the deadline for their design challenge to improve access to clean water and cut hunger.

The organisers say as people worldwide pursue distance learning amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, they have extended the Innovate for Impact: Siemens Design Challenge.deadline to Monday, May 4, adding that with software and a computer, "anyone, anywhere, has the tools they need to address the world’s greatest challenges".

Socially minded engineers

The ‘co-creation’ competition gives socially minded engineers and hardware innovators the opportunity to develop solutions to address fundamental human needs for clean water and adequate food supply. Each winning solution will be awarded $10,000.

“Now is the time to be socially distant, but it’s not the time to be disconnected. Digital technology continues to transform the industries in which we work and communities where we live. Amid this, we see a strong opportunity to apply digital transformation to drive innovation in global development and use technology to change the world in a positive way,” said John Miller, senior vice president of mainstream engineering software for Siemens Digital Industries Software.

E4C, a platform co-founded and adopted by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), will coordinate the application and evaluation process, share human-centred design principles and a variety of other tools and resources with applicants.

“We see a strong opportunity to apply digital transformation to drive innovation in global development and use technology to change the world in a positive way.”

Meanwhile, Siemens will provide free access to and training on cutting-edge technology tools for digital design and engineering, including solid edge software and a new co-creation platform developed with Siemens’ Mendix platform for low-code application development.

The co-creation platform for the challenge opened on 4 March 2020, World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development. During the “plan and learn” pre-application phase of the challenge, prospective applicants can review and consider participation in one of two tracks: zero hunger and clean water.

Brackish water

They can either design a postharvest off-grid preservation technology to reduce farm-to-table food loss in lower resource settings that lack electricity. Or, applicants may choose to design a very low-cost, energy-efficient, scalable technology for desalinating brackish water.

Once they have decided on a track, familiarised themselves with available resources, and submitted an application with their proposed solution, accepted applicants will enter the design phase of the challenge.

Over the course of the challenge, participants will be asked to:

• Submit a 60-second video introducing their team and product concept
• Research and explore the needs of their end-user
• Design their concept in 3D CAD software
• Iterate their design based on their research and provide justification for decisions
• Simulate how their product works
• Submit a video pitching their product concept.

“The global Covid-19 pandemic has forced all of us to change the way we work, interact socially and think about our sphere of influence. At E4C, our resolve to improve the quality of life through novel ideas and technology is stronger than ever,” added Iana Aranda, director of engineering global development programmes for ASME.

“We are particularly energised by the response we’re seeing to the Innovate for Impact: Siemens Design Challenge and inspired by the power of our interconnected community.”

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