This year the Kickstart Kamper project launched the Global Solar Challenge closely alongside RS Grassroots and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). The purpose of the challenge was to get students thinking about sustainability with some campervan inspired activities, while also promoting renewable technologies and engineering in higher education.
The first challenge we designed focused on off-grid solar power, given its simplicity and relevance to my own campervan conversion project, where the participants would attempt to push the limits of efficiency and yield of the technology within the context of their own projects.
We recently assembled and donated ten boxes of off-grid solar power kits ready for the first batch of IET OnCampus student groups and shipped them to universities around the world! So far, we have reached students from the UK, Kenya, Pakistan, Mauritius and Malaysia, all through the IET network which we are delighted about and keen to see the diversity in these projects as they unfold.
A very positive first meeting
We recently organised our first meeting with everyone involved, and was a great opportunity to hear about their exposure to sustainability in academia as well as any projects planned for the kit in the new year. It was also nice to be able to give a deeper explanation about the Kickstart Kamper project and how a collective ambition can help us all make a step towards a more sustainable future.
Naturally, we are all very excited to see what they get up to and where this goes from here.
