Brazil Team Wins First Place In Invent For The Planet 2019
Seven student teams from around the world sat in anxious anticipation last Wednesday afternoon as a group of judges determined their fate in the Invent for the Planet final competition. In the end, it was a team of six students from Brazil who took home first place for their innovative idea that could benefit millions of people with a vision impairment.
The Sun Never Sets on Innovation
“When we started Invent for the Planet last year, we wanted to create an opportunity for students around the world to ignore borders and connect all in the name of innovation,” said Rodney Boehm, director of the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program. “This time around, the competition doubled in size, and it was amazing to see the collaboration and creativity that resulted.”
Boehm said he enjoyed watching all of the winning teams mingle and get to know each other in person. Friendships were formed, and the students were inspired to continue collaborating with each other in the future.
How the Competition Works
Invent for the Planet, hosted by the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program at Texas A&M University, began in February with local competitions at 26 universities around the world. More than 600 students participated in the 48-hour challenge to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. First-place winners were selected at each university, and those teams then entered the next round of judging to determine the top five teams. Those teams traveled to Texas A&M for the final competition this past week. They were as follows: Team SuperSocial from Swansea University in Wales, United Kingdom; Team Haildom from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece; Team SIPS from James Madison University in Virginia; Team Tupa from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica Celso Suckow da Fonseca in Brazil; and Team Hail No from Texas A&M.
All other first-, second- and third-place teams were invited to compete in a people’s choice category held on Tuesday. Two teams from Arizona State University — Team WHY and Team DAaEH — and one team from Texas A&M — Team Hydrowhirl — competed in this category. When the results were tallied, there was a tie, allowing Team DAaEH and Team Hydrowhirl to compete the following day during the final competition.
This story by Kim Foli Ikpo originally appeared on the College of Engineering website.