Planeteers assemble at Earth Club’s “Champions of Earth”
We all admit in unison that nature is an integral part of our lives. However, we have taken its blessings for granted—we hardly understand its importance. We have dug holes for ourselves by increasing deforestation rates, emitting greenhouse gases, and enhancing pollution. Without proper actions, our beautiful earth will soon face serious consequences.
Earth Club of North South University (NSUEC) took the initiative to bring the youth from national universities on a single platform where they can come up with sustainable solutions for the environmental problems around us. One of the initiatives is "Champions of Earth", the biggest environmental idea generation competition where students get to solve critical environmental issues.
The four-month long journey started in July where 411 teams participated from 41 different universities around the country. The first round of the competition was an online case submission and 84 teams qualified for the second round.
The participants had the first workshop on August 31, in which they got the notion of further developing their ideas based on sustainability and feasibility. All qualified teams submitted the abstracts detailing their ideas. Only 30 teams got the opportunity to present their ideas in front of the judges in the next round. Finally, nine most innovative ideas secured their position for the final round.
On September 28, participants sat for a mentoring session with specialists. The final presentations were held on October 12 where they presented a detailed plan of their idea, including its implementation strategies and feasibility options in our country.
Finally, the grand finale of Sailor Champions of Earth Season 3 was held on November 14. The chief guest of the ceremony was Prof. Dr. Gias U. Ahsan, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Designate) & Dean, School of Health and Life Sciences, North South University; the guest of honour was Md. Rezaul Kabir, Chief Operating Officer, Sailor.
The total prize money for this year's Champions of Earth was BDT 1,00,000 – the winning team was awarded BDT 50,000; first runner-up team was awarded BDT 30,000, and the second runner-up team was awarded BDT 20,000.
The champion team was Captain Planet from North South University with their brilliant idea of achieving biofuel from water hyacinth plants. Team Golden Snitch from University of Dhaka secured first runners-up position with their idea to make eco-friendly bricks from recycled plastic waste, and Team Xero from BRAC University became second runner-up and their idea was eco-friendly fuel for vehicles.
Alongside this event, NSUEC also organises other events such as "A Tree for Free", "Environmental School Campaign", and "Encounters" to create a massive response in order to fight pollution and to spread awareness about environmental issues.
Sailor of Epyllion Group was the title sponsor; Runner Motors Ltd was the associate sponsor of the event. SHOUT was the Youth Engagement Partner.