WEGE PRIZE 2019 WINNERS

1ST PLACE - REDENT

Priscilla Oluwakemi Badusi U
Chemistry
Wellesley College (United States)

Aisha Muhammed Balogun U
Computer Engineering
University of Wyoming (United States)

Mukhtar Hamzat U
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Ashesi University (Ghana)

Fatimah Owolabi U
Entrepreneurship
African Leadership University (Rwanda)

Ohagwu Collins Patrick U
Agricultural Sciences
EARTH University (Costa Rica)

Click above image to access the full Project Summary

Click above image to access the full Project Summary

Solution Overview

REDENT has designed a solution that will help achieve a zero-waste-cocoa beans production process by upcycling cocoa pods husks (CPH) to produce organic fertilizers, bio-soaps and animal feeds. 

Ohagwu Collins Patrick, studying agronomy at EARTH University in Costa Rica, presents for team Redent at the 2019 Wege Prize Awards. The team's solution, which won first place and $15,000 in Wege Prize 2019, proposes a system in which cocoa pod husks, a byproduct of cocoa bean production, can be upcycled into organic fertilizer.

2ND PLACE - CONSIDERED FURNITURE

Jack Cottrell U
Biology
University of Toronto (Canada)

Joe Dunaske U
Collaborative Design/Furniture Design
Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (United States)

Kate Hyman U
Furniture Design
Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (United States)

Sydney Johnson G
Architecture
Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (United States)

Lindsey Maner U
Furniture Design
Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (United States)

Click above image to access the full Project Summary

Click above image to access the full Project Summary

Solution Overview

Considered Furniture planned to provide attainably priced sustainable furniture, designed to be fully biodegradable. They offer customizable suites of furniture, encompassing the entirety of living space needs. Buy-back credit and pricing incentives drive consumers to return their product at the end of their use for remanufacture, participating in a circular system.

Sydney Johnson, a student in the Master of Architecture program at Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University, presents for team Considered Furniture at the 2019 Wege Prize Awards.

3RD PLACE - WET TECHNIK

Melissa Mukama Buzabo U
Industrial and Fine Arts
Makerere University School of Art and Technology (Uganda)

Mark Musinguzi U
Mechanical Engineering
Makerere University School of Engineering (Uganda)

Emmanuel Musumba U
Mechanical Engineering
Makerere University School of Engineering (Uganda)

Shatsi Mwebesa U
Quantity Surveying
Makerere University School of Built Environment (Uganda)

Dennis Ssekimpi U
Civil Engineering
Makerere University School of Engineering (Uganda)

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Click above image to access the full Project Summary

Solution Overview

Wet Technik is a student start-up founded at Makerere University by a multidisciplinary group of students looking at reducing the costs of water usage and environmental pollution by hazardous wastewater through the use of constructed wetlands. Focused on solving the ever-present problem around wastewater handling, they want to bring to light the potential of its recycling to enable optimum water usage. Through using a mixture of modified waste bottle caps and pumice in their constructed wetland, they have proven that it will reduce the area requirements, making this system accessible to the factories, schools and eventually households. 

Mark Musinguzi, studying mechanical engineering at Makerere University in Uganda, presents for team Wet Technik at the 2019 Wege Prize Awards. The team's solution, which won third place in Wege Prize 2019, addresses Uganda's water shortage and wastewater treatment issues by designing a system that can upcycle grey water using a mix of constructed wetlands and filtration bio carriers made from repurposed plastic bottle caps.