News Archive

Designing a washing machine and water filter for rural communities in Cambodia has earned 12 first-year engineering students from The University of Western Australia two finals berths in the Engineers Without Borders 2008 Challenge.

The two UWA teams were up against about 1300 teams from 26 universities around Australia and will fly to Melbourne next week to compete against four other teams for a chance to win the challenge.

The Engineers Without Borders Australia Challenge is a national design program for first-year university students.  Students work in teams to develop conceptual designs for sustainable development that contribute towards real international development projects.

The 2008 challenge focuses on a range of projects that will contribute towards the sustainable development of rural communities in Kandal Province, Cambodia.  According to the World Health Organisation, an estimated 69 per cent of the Cambodia population does not have access to safe drinking water and 72 per cent do not have access to adequate sanitation.

Dr Brad Stappenbelt, from UWA's School of Mechanical Engineering, said the student projects, ‘Water Purification in Cambodia' and the ‘Cambodian Washing Machine', were good examples of Engineers without Borders' motto of "engineering a better world".

Dr Stappenbelt, coordinator of UWA's introduction to professional engineering unit, which incorporates the challenge, said his students were highly motivated by working on a real-life project that had the potential to make a difference in the lives of people in a developing country.

"We were provided with a list of about 20 projects that had design problems and needed innovation and the students responded with creative and effective solutions," he said.

The other finalists are from Australian National University, Central Queensland University, Curtin University of Technology and the University of Queensland.

The 2008 challenge winners will be announced at the Engineers Without Borders third annual conference at Melbourne University from November 27 to 30.  The winning team will travel to a developing country to see an Engineers Without Borders project in operation.

Media references

Dr Brad Stappenbelt (Unit Coordinator, School of Mechanical Engineering)  (+61 8)  6488 7201
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716