Three students at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology have won the second prize in an energy efficiency contest organised in Singapore.
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| Students Bui Thai Luan, Tran Ngoc Quy and Le Truong Phu of HCMC University of Technology holding up the winning trophy pose next to their project on display at the energy contest |
The first annual “Green the world @ my campus” competition attracted the participation of 70 universities from six regional countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
At the final round in Singapore, the contesting teams presented their solutions to saving power consumption and water usage at their campuses and suggested problem solving initiatives.
The three Vietnamese contestants presented simple yet efficient solutions for saving energy and water usage at their campus. Their project centering on efficient use of lights, water and air conditioners could help reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by around 492 tons, power use by some 636,000 kilowatt hours and water consumption by 18,000 cubic meters a year.
The students said they would need only eight months to recover the 66,000 euro budget for the application of their measures proposed in their project.
Tran Ngoc Quy, a member of the Vietnam team, told the Daily at the final round in Singapore that with the increasing power shortage and exhausted resources, people should think of simple yet efficient ways to cut power and water consumption.
“If each of us saves a little amount of energy and water, then it will help solve big problems for the nation in the future,” he said.
Meanwhile, Le Truong Phu, another Vietnamese contestant, said the energy efficiency solutions recommended in his project were easy to be applied, and that other universities in Vietnam could make use of them.
Stuart Thorogood, senior vice president of Schneider Electric Southeast Asia, told the Daily that the project presented by the Vietnamese students was well-organised, effective and feasible for practical application.
The first prize went to Chiang Mai University of Thailand and the third belonged to Singapore students.
According to Thorogood, Schneider Electric wanted to inspire young engineering students to find ways to solve the current energy problems and be more aware of proper energy management and conservation through the contest.