(Top row L-R) Anurag Bhattacharya and Apurv Shandilya. (Bottom row L-R) Ayush Kumar and Umang Tulsan. IIT (ISM)
A team of four students from IIT (Indian School of Mines-ISM) Dhanbad has bagged the first place in the International Switch Energy Case competition 2021.
The winning team won prize money worth 10,000 US dollars.
Anurag Bhattacharya and Ayush Kumar from the Applied Geophysics department and Apurv Shandilya and Umang Tulsan from the Petroleum Engineering department made up Team Urjaaffinity. All of them are third-year students.
The second prize went to Energy Caribbean Alliance from Colombia and the third prize to Print (Energy) from Algeria.
Anurag said participating in the competition was a wholesome and enriching experience. “Energy poverty affects billions of people around the globe today. This year's International Switch Energy Case Competition focused on the economic challenges and implications of working to address energy poverty. The teams competed virtually on real-world energy challenges and developing potential solutions,” he said.
The second annual International Switch Energy Case (SEA) Competition saw over 900 students from 37 countries taking part with the help of over a hundred energy professionals who volunteered as mentors and judges. The competition is hosted by Switch Energy Alliance, with additional support from Chuck and Cathy Williamson and the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the University of Texas in Austin.
“The teams had to propose a solution to address the economic challenges and implications of energy poverty,” said Rajni Singh, the associate dean, media and branding, at IIT (ISM), Dhanbad.
For Umang, participating in SEA 2021 was one of the best experiences during the pandemic. “I am thankful for the knowledge I acquired during this competition,” he said.
“It was an amazing experience to be a part of SEA 2021. This competition helped me to push past my limits in all the ways. Thank you Switch for this opportunity!!,” said Apurv.
SEA 2021 was a life-changing journey, agreed Ayush. “I picked up valuable leadership skills in myself and came up with the best solution,” he said.