NEWS
‘ Greenovation ’ is the name of the game
Engineering students can now achieve green glory too !
Images by Growthpoint
Inspiring and encouraging university students to discover , explore and invent ways to live more sustainably , the Greenovate Awards Programme is taking environmental innovation even further this year by introducing a new category to the awards for engineering students .
The programme , founded by Growthpoint Properties with the Green Building Council South Africa ( GBCSA ), sets students of the built environment on a quest to find more sustainable ways of living . It stimulates green building thinking and rewards excellence in its application .
A first of its kind in South Africa , the University of Cape Town , University of the Witwatersrand and University of Pretoria piloted the flourishing programme for the built environment in 2015 in the property studies and construction faculties of these universities . Last year , students of these faculties at University of Free State and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University joined the pursuit to find innovative ways to support more sustainable living .
Now in its third year , the programme has been extended to include students from another high-impact stream – engineering . The competition is open to students of the electric , electronic , mechanical and civil engineering fields .
Eight leading South Africa universities are contending to demonstrate their environmental achievements . Engineering faculties from Stellenbosch University and the University of the North West have also joined the programme .
The University of Cape Town , winner of the Greenovate Award property and construction studies faculty category for two years running , will now also compete in the engineering category , therefore it will compete in both categories this year .
Rudolf Pienaar , Growthpoint Properties office division director and chair of the GBCSA , says , “ We are thrilled to invite engineers onto the programme .”
Head of sustainability at Growthpoint , Werner van Antwerpen , says , “ It ’ s exciting to see South Africa ’ s future industry leaders showcase their understanding of the importance of preserving our natural environment . Growthpoint is proud to include the Greenovate Awards among our initiatives to extend our business commitment to sustainability and climate change mitigation .”
Dorah Modise , CEO of the GBCSA , says that the organisation is excited about the extension into the engineering faculty . “ The student awards have exceeded our expectations , and have received wide acclaim .”
Werner van Antwerpen , head of sustainability at Growthpoint Properties .
Rudolf Pienaar , Growthpoint Properties office division director and chair of the GBCSA .
The awards programme is set for final-year and honours university students to come up with ideas that result in a research project that promotes a more sustainable built environment . These ideas can apply to any aspect of a building such as design , development , planning , construction , materials or a collaboration across different areas . The same goes for the engineering awards , including electric , electrical , mechanical or civil engineering .
The best green ideas stand a chance to win R110 000 . The winning team from each of the two streams – property and construction studies and engineering – will take home R30 000 . The winners will present their research to leading built environment professionals at the esteemed annual GBCSA Green Building Convention the following year . Second and third prizes for both streams are R15 000 and R10 000 respectively plus they receive tickets to the GBCSA Convention .
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JULY - AUGUST 2017
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