I. Introduction
The 1st Future Engineers for Water and Environmental Safety (FEWES) International Student
Competition will focus on low-cost water technology with environmental and/or public
health benefits (e.g., first flush device for rainwater harvesting, compost toilet, house-hold
water treatment facility for low-income family, water component sensor etc). This is an
international competition and participants are challenged to design and implement innovative
low-cost water technologies.
We are pleased to announce the commencement of this exciting international competition
where groups of up to three students are welcome to identify problems and put forth
innovative ideas to solve these problems using low-cost technologies. Students will have the
opportunity to present their ideas and to create innovative solutions while learning from
global peers. International judges from China, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and
the United States will review the proposals and select the finalists. Selected finalists will be
invited to Tianjin to showcase their work as well as gain further guidance from
internationally renowned experts in the field.
The groups with the top ten submissions will be invited to Tianjin, China in late October
2018, for a weeklong workshop which will include demonstration/testing of their proposed
technologies as well as some site-seeing opportunities. Round-trip airfare and all
accommodation and lodging costs in China will be covered by the competition organizers.
II. DETAILS
Schedule
- May 31, 2018 – Proposals (not to exceed ten pages in length) are to be submitted to
the Organizing Committee at scwe@nankai.edu.cn with identified problem and the
brief of the innovative technology. - June 15, 2018 – Identified proposals selected to move forward to prepare a final
report (expected to number 25 in total) - August 31, 2018 – Submittal of final reports to the Organizing Committee at
scwe@nankai.edu.cn - September 15, 2018 – Names of candidate groups, representing a shortlist of up to ten,
will be published on the website www.scwe.org.cn. - Selected groups will travel to Tianjin, China for a weeklong period between October
28 to November 3, 2018 for evaluation of the performance of their technology and
learning about water security at Nankai University.
Preparation activities by the various project groups:
- Proposals – Groups to submit to the Organizing Committee, up to 10 page proposals.
The proposal is to detail the problem and the concepts of solutions being proposed.
It is expected that up to 25 proposals will be short-listed, and these candidate
groups will be asked to further elaborate on their ideas and implement them to
such an extent as to be able to demonstrate the performance characteristics of their
proposed technology. - Reports – Groups selected to prepare a report (limited to 30 pages) that documents the
findings on the performance capabilities and details the characteristics that favor
their proposed design. It is expected that a demonstration example of the
technology will have been developed, providing demonstrable evidence of the
proposal concept. It is required that the selected groups will bring their technology
to Nankai University for the final demonstration and evaluation. - Performance Evaluation – Groups will demonstrate their technology to the
Organizing Committee during the week-long activity in Tianjin.
The key criteria in the selection of the winning technologies are as follows:
- Novelty/Innovation – given a weight 30%, Candidate groups are encouraged to ‘think
outside the box’; - Lifecycle cost (US$) – given a weight of 20%. Assume a discount rate of 4% per year;
- Size and weight – given a weight of 20%. Smaller is better as space limitations and
mobility are relevant; - Technology transferability and robustness of the technology – given a weight of 15%.
Simplicity in the operation and maintenance of the technology is highly desirable
and ability of the technology to be useful to the consumer for a lengthy period, are
both of considerable value; - Environmental sustainability – given a weight of 15%. Sustainability of the
technology with minimal environmental impact is important as is the carbon
footprint.
The decisions of the judgement team will be final. The Intellectual Property Rights of the
proposed solution will belong to the participating groups.
Awards
Top Prize (1 team), award: ¥35000 CNY (Equivalent to about $5200 USD)
First Prize (2 teams), award: ¥ 20000 CNY (Equivalent to about $3100 USD)
Second Prize (3 teams), award: ¥ 15000 CNY (Equivalent to about $2200 USD)
Research Grant
The selected teams have the opportunity to apply for a 6-month grant to continue and
improve their work at Nankai University and in SCWE’s labs with local and international
professors. More information will be provided later.
III. DEADLINES & REQUIREMENTS
Your entry must include:
- The names and contact information for all team members.
- A report on your identified problem and the solution.
The report must include images and/or text. The font size must be Times New Roman 12 pt.
All entries must have measurements provided in SI units. You may include photographs,
diagrams, drawings, renderings, collages or other visualizations to represent your solution(s).
Proposals must be submitted through the online form by 11:59 PM Beijing Time on August
31, 2018. Entrants will receive a confirmation number that the files have been uploaded and
should retain this confirmation number for later reference.
Failure to comply with any of these submission requirements will result in immediate
disqualification.
IV. About Us
The Sino-Canada Joint R&D Center on Water and Environmental Safety (SCWE) is co-
sponsored by Nankai University, Canada Water Technology Exchange (CWTX), People’s
Government of Tianjin Binhai New Area, and China Association for International Exchange
of Personnel. Future Engineers for Water and Environmental Safety (FEWES) International
Student Competition is a new initiative to encourage young engineers and scientists to use
their potential and solve problems.
V. CONTACT US & INQUIRIES
Please email us at scwe@nankai.edu.cn