Winning streak continues

Students on an accelerated engineering degree took on a challenge that usually takes a full academic year to complete, and came up with three practical solutions in six months.

The challenge laid down by Engineers Without Borders (EWB), in partnership with Habitat for Humanity Vietnam, was to develop ideas for sustainable development of the Anh Minh district within the Kien Giang province on the Mekong Delta, at the southern tip of Vietnam. Although the Mekong Delta produces around 50 percent of Vietnam's rice, it is one of the poorest regions in the country.

Judges decided the winning idea was a fuel-efficient cooking stove that used locally-sourced components, burned twigs and sticks, and had a chimney.

Massey University engineering students have won the New Zealand EWB challenge for the last two years.