Interview with Chris Hughes, Engineers Without Borders UK Change maker
In this interview, Chris talks about his experience reviewing the Challenge, advice to current participants, and his own engineering career. He also talks about the prospects that current engineering students have for a career in renewable energy
By Eleanor Wagner, Marketing Communications Executive at Energy Saving Trust, Co-Secretariat of the Efficiency for Access Coalition
Chris Hughes studied at the University of Birmingham where he was driven by an interest in renewable energy. Seeking a wider perspective on engineering, he joined the university Chapter of Engineers Without Borders UK where he served as Social Secretary and then President. Since graduating, Chris has worked directly with the Heritage sector in the UK to tackle the challenges of energy efficiency in National Trust properties. He has been named an Engineers without Borders ‘Change Maker’ and was a reviewer of the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge 2019 –2020, funded by UK aid and the IKEA Foundation.
In this interview, he talks about his experience reviewing the Challenge, advice to current participants, and his own engineering career. He also talks about the prospects that current engineering students have for a career in renewable energy.
What advice would you give students participating in the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge 2020 –2021?
It’s a brilliant yet unique opportunity, that most other students won’t get to experience. Make the most of it by immersing yourself in the subject, even if you start the challenge without knowing much about energy in a developing context, put yourself in the shoes of the people you’re designing for. Remember, it’s often easier to find a solution that works technically, than a solution that really works best for the users.
What do you feel are the key challenges and opportunities in clean energy access today?
One of the immediate challenges will be the impact that COVID-19 has had on poverty across the world, and continuing progress on energy access despite this. In terms of opportunities, it is interesting to look at energy access as a spectrum rather than a finite goal. As more people springboard from pico-solar and improved cookstoves, there is an ever-growing market for higher levels of access, in areas that may remain off-grid. Which is why the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge, focusing on the off-grid appliance sector, is so relevant.
In your experience, how do the worlds of engineering and energy access interact?
Engineering obviously plays a key role in the technical aspects of achieving energy access. But the energy sector also requires a really deep understanding of the needs of the user, it’s not a static solution, it’s unique to each situation. We need to understand all of the factors, from affordability, to how it’s used for what, and by whom. Approaching a problem in this way is an invaluable skill to apply back to engineering in general.
What advice would you give an engineer who wanted to pursue a career in sustainable engineering?
Get as much experience as you can to broaden your perspective and ensure that you never see your engineering in isolation. Sustainable engineering, and even energy access, are incredibly broad sectors, so spend time finding the thing you’re most passionate about. Seek out organisations that align with your values and reach out personally if you want to get involved with their work, opportunities are rarely limited to those offered publicly.
What was your experience of the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge review process like?
It was great to see so many young people interested in the field, developing the skills, and tackling a problem that most people never normally come across. It was personally very interesting too, seeing the different perspectives of the students.
What is the impact of students engaging with the off-grid sector as we enter the decade of action?
The next ten years pose a big challenge, but students are more engaged, knowledgeable, and prepared than ever before to have an impact on these issues. Business-as-usual always needs to be challenged, and students are great at bringing fresh ideas to problems. By the end of this decade many will have started careers in the sector and will get to have a unique perspective in the final push towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).