Graduate News - Graduate's 'cool idea' wins award
Qasid Ahmad is the latest undergraduate to have scooped an internship with Enterprise Rent-A-Car as a result of entering the annual Real World Awards.
Qasid, a MechEng student at Swansea University, wowed judges with his inspiring work in the Gambia. He explained: 'During my gap year I spent a year teaching in a school in the Gambia in Serekunda at Masroor Senior Secondary school which was run by an NGO called Humanity First. On returning from this gap year I wanted to research into technology that could work towards helping some of the problems associated with poverty. The majority of Gambians were small school subsistent farmers, which means that they grow a small quantity of crops, usually only for themselves and their families, and then sell excess produce in the market. One of the big problems the farmers had was storage. They would take produce to the market and it would go rotten within a few days.'
He added: 'I was studying engineering and came across an interesting solution to this problem. It had been invented by a Nigerian lecturer called Muhhamed Bah Abba which was a simple adaptation of the traditional clay pot - used world wide for storing water. The idea is a simple one: one small clay pot placed in a larger one, with the space in between filled with wet sand to keep the items cool. As the water evaporated it would cool down the contents in the inner pot, similar to perspiration cooling down the body. The shelf life of vegetables could then be extended, so with this idea I approached Swansea University and I joined Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) [a non-profit organisation educating people on concepts like market economics, entrepreneurship through outreach projects] and set up this idea as a project to help Gambian farmers.'
So what made him want to enter the competition? 'I was looking for a summer placement anyway, which was why I was going through Real World magazine,' he told us. 'I saw the article on the Real World Awards in the March edition, saying "Are you Enterprising?" and I thought it was an obvious place to start as I'd just come up with my Desert Fridge project.' When he heard the news of his win he said he was 'delighted' and 'very surprised'!
Details of the other inspiring finalists will be posted soon and in the autumn we will have a full report of the awards ceremony itself which takes place in September.
Subscribe to this RSS feedAdd to
Send to a friend
Post a comment
Comments
No comments....
Graduate Employers
| TravelWorks | TravelWorks offers a myriad of volunteer and paid work opportuniti... | more |
| ESCP Europe Business School | Founded in 1819 and now one of the world’s oldest business s... | more |
| Towers Watson | Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt have come together as Towers Watson... | more |
| Nottingham University Business Sch... | Postgraduate study at Nottingham University Business School offers... | more |
| nucleargraduates | The UK’s nuclear industry is facing its biggest challenge in... | more |
| AXA UK | With 210,000 employees and distributors worldwide and a presence i... | more |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers | PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) is the one firm for all talented ... | more |
| Audit Commission | Everyone has their own missions in life. At the Audit Commission, ... | more |
| The Institution of Engineering & T... | The IET offers different categories of membership depending on you... | more |
| Bank of England | Few organisations play a more influential role in the UK’s e... | more |
Latest Graduate Jobs
| Title | Organisation | Apply by |
|---|---|---|
| KTP Associate 'Environmental Resource Specialist' | Knowledge Transfer Partne... | 23 Aug 2010 |
| KTP Business Development & Quality Systems Manager | Knowledge Transfer Partne... | 20 Aug 2010 |
| KTP Associate - Embedded Systems Developer | Knowledge Transfer Partne... | 21 Aug 2010 |
| Product Design & Development Engineer (KTP Associate) | Knowledge Transfer Partne... | 06 Aug 2010 |
| KTP Associate - Motor Design Engineer (up to 2 years Fixed T... | Knowledge Transfer Partne... | 07 Aug 2010 |
Volunteer Internships - London and Manchester
|
Common Purpose | 03.06.2010 |
|
Retirement Benefits (Actuarial Consulting): London, Reigate...
|
Towers Watson | 31 Aug 2010 |
| Sales Executive (Product Advisor) | Inspiring Interns | 18 Nov 2010 |
| Account Manager | Inspiring Interns | 18 Nov 2010 |
| Fundraising Intern | Inspiring Interns | 19 Nov 2010 |
Graduate Case Studies
|
Emma Heley - Celebrity Publicist - PHA MediaI work in the celebrity department of a public relations firm in Soho managing press and publicity for our celebrity clients... ... more |
|
Cameron Hall - PR Account ExecutiveEssentially I help to generate a constant stream of positive press cover for my clients. Day-to-day activities include creating press releases, arranging interviews, writing articles and responding to news stories... ... more |
Nikki Barell - Graduate Management trainee in Adult Social Care - National Skills AcademyI am currently on a year long graduate management scheme in adult social care with the National Skills Academy for Social Care. This involves me splitting my time between the national charity The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and the local charity Blackburn with Darwen Carers Centre... ... more |
|
Rowena Jones - Graduate Management trainee in Adult Social Care - National Skills AcademyI am currently on a year-long graduate management trainee scheme in adult social care, run by the National Skills Academy. During the twelve months I am based within a host organisation in order to gain first hand experience of leadership and management... ... more |
Graduate Advice
|
All the Fun of the Careers Fair Thinking of going to a careers fair, but don’t know where to start?... more |
|
Postgrad: Higher Pay or just Higher Debts? ... more |
|
It’s been in all the newspapers and unfortunately it’s true.... more |
|
Take a look at the different routes into social work... more |
Comments