Engineers Without Borders Prize - 2nd for LJMU

Students who engineered people-centred designs for urban food production have won second prize in a national competition.

Civil Engineering undergraduates Chloe Burbidge, Emilda Nyakatsito, Owen Hoskins, Lucy Veighey, and Connor Rylance proposed their Solar-Powered Hydroponic System at the UK Engineering for People Design Challenge.

This project proposes a community-run, solar-powered hydroponic system that enables year-round food production. Built from recycled materials, it harvests rainwater through a sedum roof filter to create a sustainable growing space.

Designed for inner-city communities, where limited green space, contaminated soils and cost-of-living pressures restrict local food growing, the designs enable access to fresh produce, enhancing biodiversity and strengthening local resilience, community cohesion and dignity.

'Agency' for community

The judges said: “The way they addressed the problem with their iterative approach to the design, and the emphasis they placed on the community stewardship model, giving agency over food production to the community, won us over.”

The competition run by Engineers Without Borders reaches 7,000 students annually across 47 universities in six countries.

LJMU was one of 36 shortlisted teams invited to the Grand Final at Millennium Point, Birmingham, on 19 June.  After presenting again to an expert judging panel and audience, the top 3 teams were chosen, with LJMU awarded Second Place.

Dr Joseph Amoako-Attah, senior lecturer in civil engineering, said: “This fantastic achievement is a testament to the hard work, creativity, teamwork, and dedication of our students: Chloe, Emilda, Owen, Lucy and Connor, supported by the teaching team: Mawada Abdellatif , and Tina Marolt Cebasek .