Think Green Student Award

The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Division is offering the annual Think Green Student Award to recognize engineering student projects and studies that have contributed to energy efficiency improvements or renewable energy deployment.

The purpose of the Division is to advance all aspects of renewable energy engineering and energy efficiency, both on the demand and supply sides for supporting sustainable clean energy. A primary focus includes energy generation and storage, and energy efficiency, in context of the Paris Accord, which limits global warming to 2 degrees Celsius with a target of 1.5 degrees.

In keeping with our mission statement, the Think Green Student Award is a means to:

• Promote continuing education and high standards of professional practice within the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy engineering;
• Recognize new, innovative, or unique applications of established or novel technologies that have demonstrated excellence in ingenuity and application; and
• Increase registrant awareness of different fields of energy engineering and promote the role that renewables and energy efficiency can play in managing our carbon footprint and ultimately mitigating climate change.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be enrolled in, or have recently graduated from (in the preceding 2 years), an accredited BC post-secondary or post-graduate engineering or related program.
• The project or research focus must be on renewable energy or energy efficiency improvement.
• The project or research must demonstrate involvement of registrants of Engineers and Geoscientists BC as contributor(s), supervisors, or both. The lead professional engineer or professional geoscientist on the project should be named in the submission.
• A student or team is only eligible to receive one Engineers and Geoscientists BC award or scholarship each academic year. If your team is successful in more than one Engineers and Geoscientists BC award or scholarship, they will only receive the award with the highest value.
• Projects must have been completed within the preceding two (2) years.

Up to 2 student awards may be granted annually.

Submission Process

Each project application for the Think Green Student Award will include submission of a 1-page summary of the project using the format shown in the Appendix A: Think Green Student Award Applicant Summary for review by the Think Green Student Award Sub-Committee. The 1-page summary application submission is due by March 1, 2023. Projects must be able to demonstrate substantial completion by May 2023. Nominations may be submitted to the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Division by email at [email protected]. Nominations should be submitted in PDF; hard copies will not be accepted.

A maximum of three (3) projects will be shortlisted for additional review; shortlisted applicants selected for full submission packages will be notified in May 2023 to submit a full report.

Application Timeline

The full submission report must be in electronic format, not exceeding ten (10) pages and must include the following:

• A written description of not more than five (5) pages that clearly describes the project, including the objective, the method(s), the outcome(s), and the reasons it qualifies for the Think Green Student Award;
• Names and contacts of the key project participants including Engineers and Geoscientists BC registered engineering professionals with their project position and responsibility;
• Confirmation that participant organizations, regulatory authorities, project sponsors and other key individuals involved in the project are aware of the nomination submission and where applicable the project sponsor(s) or principal investigator(s) written approval for the release of information; and
• Any other supporting information including: videos, colour photographs, illustrations, drawings, copies of relevant report(s), specifications, references and/or performance data.

Full reports (when requested) are to be submitted to the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Division by email at [email protected]. Reports should be submitted in PDF; photos may be included as JPG or GIF files or embedded in the document. Hard copies will not be accepted.

The winning team(s) will be notified by email and the award will be presented at the division Annual General Meeting in Fall.

Evaluation of Applications

The Think Green Student Award Sub-Committee will evaluate submissions based on the following criteria:

• Presentation, clarity, and organization of the submission package;
• Demonstration of application of alternative energy systems, net zero systems, and efficiency improvement (e.g., a description of devices being built or the system being designed);
• Potential impact of the design or significance of the enhancement achieved (e.g., through carbon footprint management or efficiency improvement calculations);
• Demonstrated application of the system through implementation or design and development of a prototype (where applicable);
• Degree of involvement of industry and Engineers and Geoscientists BC registrants who were part of the project team; and
• Skillset diversity of the team members.

Notification of Award

Up to two Think Green Student Awards, in the amount of $3,000 each, will be awarded to the successful student team by August/September of each year. The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Division executive team reserves the right, after reviewing all applications, to refrain from granting the award in a given year.

The winning team(s) will be notified by email and the award will be presented at the division Annual General Meeting in the fall.

In providing final submission packages, project teams agree that Engineers and Geoscientists BC may advertise the winning team and provide details of the award to the media at the discretion of Engineers and Geoscientists BC.