UCD Smurfit School Students Champion Sustainable Water Solutions at INNOVA Competition
- Date: Mon, Oct 7, 2024
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By Beth Gormley, Communications and PR Manager, UCD College of Business
MBA students Christine Deane and Rohit Passan, two forward-thinking students from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, have made a mark at the prestigious INNOVA competition held in Paris. Competing in the "Young Hopes" category, the duo presented their innovative project, "Eradicating Water Poverty," which tackles one of the most pressing issues in the world today: access to safe drinking water.
With approximately 2 billion people worldwide lacking access to safe drinking water, and over 1.7 billion relying on contaminated sources, Deane and Passan's project proposes a sustainable solution to help those most in need. Their proposal focuses on creating water treatment facilities in underprivileged areas, starting with communities in India, where an estimated 60 million people lack safe water, according to the 2019 WHO report.
“Our project is called Biofil - a personal, portable, low-cost water filtration solution,” explained Deane. “The design combined bioremediation within a 2 litre plastic water filtration device which removes common contaminants from water to make it safe to drink. Our initial target market is India, but we see potential for this product as something that could be bought by householders anywhere in the world that are faced with the risk of their water supplies being disrupted and contaminated by floods or other natural disasters.”
The heart of their project is the development of biofilm-based water filtration cartridge units. This cost-effective solution purifies contaminated water by using beneficial microorganisms that bind and break down pollutants like organic matter and toxic heavy metals. The proposed solution not only ensures access to clean, safe drinking water but also generates employment opportunities in the local community through the establishment of these water treatment plants.
“We had secured agreement in principal by the Government of India, Department of Water and Sanitation to purchase and distribute Biofil to10,000 households in an initial pilot phase. We also had agreement from a social enterprise in India, which could use recycled plastic to manufacture the units at low cost. This also had the added benefit of providing employment locally.”
“Our product addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation, but because water is a basic human need, progress on this SDG would also unleash progress on all 17 goals,” continued Deane.
“It has a huge potential to help prevent deaths from drinking contaminated water, which according to the UN, 6,000 people die from every day. And according to UNICEF, 1,000 of those are children under the age of 5 years old.”
Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship Orla Byrne attended the competition and commented, "There was great energy and enthusiasm at the competition and fantastic ideas from a broad cohort of students. I was inspired by the breadth and range of ideas—all with excellent causes and tackling a wide range of UN Sustainable Development Goals."
Deane and Passan described that the questions and feedback received from the judges and audience were hugely beneficial and they now have an expression of interest for investment, as well leads to secure grants.
The INNOVA competition, hosted this year at EDHEC Paris, brought together students from leading European business schools, including UCD Smurfit School, for the first time. Other participating schools included EDHEC, ESMT Berlin, ETH Zurich, IE Madrid, Kiev School of Economics, Kozminksi in Warsaw, and Polimi Polytechnic in Milan.
The competition took place in Paris at Station F, Europe's largest start-up incubator, adding to the vibrant and innovative atmosphere. Industry experts, entrepreneurs, corporate partners, and students were all in attendance, making the event a valuable networking opportunity as well.
“The whole experience was hugely positive. Station F is an amazing place and we made great contacts, especially with the teams presenting in the competition for businesses at a more advanced stage. They generously shared great advice with us,” concluded Deane.
The project presented by Deane and Passan is just one example of how UCD Smurfit School continues to drive student innovation in addressing global challenges. With their focus on bioremediation and sustainable practices, their work holds the potential to transform how communities in need access safe drinking water.