Efficiency for Access Design Challenge in Africa

Efficiency for Access Design Challenge in Africa

Year four of the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge will begin in September 2022. This year students from 20 universities in Bangladesh, Cameroon, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Sweden, Uganda, the UK, the USA and Zimbabwe are participating.

From October 2022 to April 2023, there will be a series of webinars and workshops. The webinars will explore topics that are connected with relevant concepts useful when considering a holistic approach for the development of project ideas within the energy access sector. The workshops will help participating students hone their skills in developing a design project.

These online events will be scheduled at different days and times to cater for different needs and time zones. The sessions will be recorded and available on our website. However, we strongly recommend that students attend live webinars, as they will provide an excellent opportunity for attendees to interact with the speakers and ask questions.

The Challenge Brief 2022-23

The Challenge Brief is the main guidance document for all students who are participating in the competition. This document provides important background information on the off-grid appliance sector, the scope of the competition, examples of different technologies, key dates, student support, and the assessment framework. Read it here.

Interactive workspace

Through the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge online workspace on CrowdSolve, participating students will be able to upload your projects and collaborate with the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge community.

You will be able to connect with other students and industry experts who are working to design affordable, high performing appliances for people living in off and weak-grid communities in low to middle income countries. This workspace is only accessible to students at one of the participating universities, participating mentors or reviewers.

Concept note:

Although student teams should submit a concept note at any point from October onwards, we encourage you to submit your concept note within a month of the kick-off workshop. The deadline for submitting the concept note is 5 pm BST, Wednesday 15 February 2023.

Final project:

Student teams should submit their project (a 4000-word (maximum) report and a three-minute video) by 5 pm BST, Friday 14 April 2023. Students are only required to submit one project per team.

Prototyping funds

Participating student teams were able to apply for prototyping funds to develop project ideas. Information about the call for applications will come soon.

How to Apply

For more information and job application details, see; Efficiency for Access Design Challenge in Africa