Quanser Global Sustainability Award 2024
The Winner:
Quanser, in collaboration with IFEES and GEDC, is thrilled to announce the recipient of the prestigious Quanser Global Sustainability Award 2024. This annual accolade celebrates exceptional academics and researchers dedicated to pioneering sustainable engineering practices.
Samyuktha Penta is an Associate Professor and Head of the Center for Innovation and Social Transformation (CIST) at KG Reddy College of Engineering and Technology. Currently pursuing a PhD from JNTUH in Renewable Energy Sources, her areas of interest include sustainable energy solutions, service learning, and engineering education. A certified Design Thinking practitioner from IIT Delhi and an Innovation Ambassador, she has also completed advanced entrepreneurship training at the U.S. Consulate. Her dedication to sustainability and social impact has earned numerous accolades, including the Quanser Sustainability Award 2024 for the project “Bridging Classrooms and Communities through Resustainable Partnerships.” She is also a recipient of the Intinta Innovator Award from the Telangana State Innovation Cell (TSIC), further cementing her contributions to regional innovation and societal impact. She has also contributed to designing and integrating Design thinking and service-learning courses into the engineering curriculum, promoting hands-on, community-focused education. Samyuktha has guided numerous students to launch successful startups, empowering them to become changemakers and drive impactful societal transformations. Her extensive contributions also include leading government-funded projects, publishing advanced research in renewable energy, and championing community-focused education initiatives. She remains committed to inspiring engineers to innovate for a sustainable and equitable future.
Award-Winning Project:
Title: Centre for Innovation and Social Transformation: Bridging Classrooms and Communities through ReSustainable Partnerships
This groundbreaking initiative has established itself as a transformative model for integrating sustainability into engineering education. Linking academic coursework with real-world community service projects equips students with the skills and experiences needed to address global sustainability challenges.
Key highlights of the project include:
- Alignment with the UN SDGs: Service-learning projects that contribute to holistic development in technical, professional, and sustainability skills.
- Scalability and Adaptability: A flexible framework that can be implemented in diverse educational settings worldwide.
- Community Impact: Strengthening ties between classrooms and communities to foster sustainable socio-economic development.
This initiative exemplifies how engineering education can foster innovation, sustainability, and a commitment to a greener future.
Recognition Ceremony:
Mrs. Samyuktha Penta was formally recognized during the GEDC & WEEF 2024 Awards Ceremony on December 4 in Sydney, Australia. We extend our heartfelt congratulations on her remarkable achievement and look forward to her continued contributions to global sustainability.
About the Quanser Global Sustainability Award
The Quanser Global Sustainability Award seeks to encourage innovative initiatives in engineering education that equip students with the tools to explore and advance sustainable engineering methods. Eligible projects focus on undergraduate or master’s-level education and demonstrate:
- Innovation: A creative approach to sustainability challenges.
- Alignment: Clear connection to measurable learning outcomes.
- Scalability: Potential to expand and impact future generations.
- Impact: Evident enhancement of students’ understanding of sustainability principles.
Individual and team nominations are welcomed, promoting diverse approaches to achieving a sustainable future.
To address global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, waste and pollution, the circular economy requires effective systems and solution frameworks. To improve every element of our global technological and economic systems, the engineering community must transform our practices.
As engineering designers, we need to work together to answer the question: how can we design products that support the principles of sustainability, such as re-use, repair, re-manufacture, and recycling?
For more than three decades, Quanser has been supporting engineering education. We are proud to partner with the academic community to promote sustainability concepts in the field of engineering education.
Dozens of students and professors from universities and colleges around the world have participated in the Quanser Global Sustainability Award over the past few years, showcasing promising projects and impressive practical results in a variety of fields.
Together with the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC), and the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES), we look forward to continuing to support high-quality education with the Quanser Global Sustainability Awards 2024!
THE MISSION:
The Quanser Global Sustainability Award encourages the development of initiatives that prepare students to discover and develop sustainable engineering methods throughout their careers.
THE ELIGIBILITY:
Any initiative focused on developing undergraduate or master’s-level engineering skills to tackle one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
The initiative must be innovative and include a demonstrable alignment to learning outcomes. In addition, the initiative must have a measurable impact on the student’s understanding of sustainability and have the potential to be transferrable and scalable, to ensure that it can expand to enhance the learning of future generations.
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