Canadian Students Among Finalists of Schneider Electric Global Competition

July 19, 2016

Emily Koenig and Paul Grawitz, students at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, BC, comprise one of only 12 teams worldwide competing in Schneider Electric’s international Go Green in the City Competition.

The two students, competing as Cyclicity, are North America’s entry into the competition, beating out teams from the U.S. and Mexico.

Schneider Electric received more than 16,400 entries. From these applications, 1,184 teams from 180 countries competed in the first round. The 12 finalists were selected after the second round.

The shortlisted teams will compete in Paris from September 19 to 22 for the grand prize: the opportunity to work with Schneider Electric and a world tour of the company’s offices.

Launched in 2011, Go Green in the City offers engineering and business students (starting from the second year of university) a chance to present innovative energy management ideas for the smart cities of the future. As in previous years, participants must propose an energy management solution to meet the needs of smart cities in one of the five areas: residential, universities, business, hospitals or water management. Each team must include at least one woman.

“This competition raises awareness of Schneider Electric among thousands of students worldwide, enabling them to see how it would be a great place to work one day,” says James Nathan, Enterprise Account Manager at Schneider Electric Canada and a mentor for the past four Go Green in the City competitions. “It is also an opportunity to share the group’s ambition of innovating at every level to help rethink industries, transform cities and enrich the lives of citizens through energy management technology and automation.”

Two other teams made Canada’s own shortlist:

• Greengineer — Dewan Ahmed and Tithi Tasnuva, Ryerson University

• Green Berets — Nikitha Reddy and Abhishek Chakrala, University of Windsor