“Proud for Uganda” – Team 2024-08 on their Efficiency for Access Design Challenge Gold Award win

The Grand Final of the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge 2024–25 was held on Thursday, 26 June 2025, celebrating a diverse array of innovative, energy-efficient designs developed by university student teams from around the globe. Over the past nine months, these teams have worked on interesting, innovative solutions aimed at improving energy access in underserved communities.

Awards were presented across Bronze, Silver, and the People’s Prize categories. But one team’s design stood out above the rest, earning them the prestigious Gold Award.

Team 2024-08, from Gulu University in Uganda, impressed judges with their hydrogel solar evaporator: a sustainable, low-cost solution designed to purify contaminated water using solar energy and hydrogel materials. Tailored for use in Ugandan refugee camps, the design aims to improve access to clean water.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Brian Stephen Ojede and Rosemary Nyamungu from the winning team to learn more about their design journey, the challenges they overcame, and how participating in the Challenge has shaped their aspirations for the future.

How does it feel to be Gold Award winners of the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge?

Brian Stephen: “Being a Gold winner of the Challenge makes me very proud in many ways: proud of my impact, proud for my university, proud for Uganda, and proud for showcasing the potential of young innovators. It validates our teamwork, and it shows the potential of collaboration.”

Can you explain how the hydrogel solar evaporator works in simple terms?

Brian Stephen: “We call it ‘SOLGEL’ because we combine solar energy and a special gel to purify water. Water is absorbed by a special ‘Ppy hydrogel’ material. This is a conductive polymer that uses light in to purify water through solar evaporation, sustainably converting these chemicals into clean water.”

What inspired your team to work on water purification and energy access in refugee camps?

Brian Stephen: “I came from a rough area, and I understand what having a lack of access to clean water means. It is seen as a silent crisis. In the team we recalled this emotion to inspire us. We asked ourselves, ‘what if we were the ones going through this crisis? As young innovators, what can we do?’ This informed our team spirit.”

Rosemary: “We looked at what is important to livelihoods, and we zeroed down on water, shelter and food. We all know we cannot live without water, so we looked at how we can treat water off-grid without having to depend on electricity.”

What were the biggest challenges you faced during the development of your system, and how did you overcome them?

Brian Stephen: “We wanted to do so much data analysis, but we were limited on access to resources to do this.”

Rosemary: “This was a major challenge. We would have liked to have collected more primary data to analyse, but we were only able to go to one refugee camp. However, we had an interaction with the Minister for Disaster Preparedness in Uganda, and he gave us similar insights [in other camps] to what we collected in our visit. So, whilst we collected a variety of data, much of it was secondary.”

Could you tell us a bit about your business model and how you would grow and scale your design for use in refugee camps?

Rosemary: “Our target market for now is refugee camps, but with this business model it is possible to scale up. We had a thought to put a prototype in a school as it is easier to collect data there. However, after we won the Gold award in the Challenge, I simply told the team ‘we need to have a meeting with the honourable in charge of the refugee camps, as they would completely buy this idea’. It has to be affordable, so we have looked at different pay systems. The scalability is very possible because if we can do for our family, then we could size it up for a school just like we had in the ideation phase.”

What kind of feedback have you received from potential users, and how has it influenced your work?

Rosemary: “We did do some customer feedback. We were originally in touch with the Honourable, and we were further motivated by a visit to Palabek [refugee camp]. The Honourable was very enthusiastic about our design, which was very encouraging. That morale boost pushes you to tell yourself to go ahead with the planned design. It tells you that it still feels very feasible.”

Do you plan to carry your project forward beyond the competition and, if so, how are you planning to do that?

Rosemary: “We did not know how hard it is not to have water. Recently, I’ve noticed we’ve had water scarcity a few times within Gulu. We have water for drinking, but clean water for showering is not guaranteed, and that inconveniences us. Imagine what it is like for people who have to walk many miles just to get a cup of drinking water? This is why there is a need to scale up.”

Brian Stephen: “We want to take this forward because our target is to help battle the crisis and discover how we can help even further. That’s why we participated in the Challenge initially.”

Rosemary: “If we start with a household, do a prototype, then test it in the field, then we move on to a school… we’ll be serving a bigger number of people at the same time.”

What message would you like to leave for future innovators and students who are passionate about sustainable development and clean energy access?

Rosemary: “To take part in the Challenge is an opportunity to also grow yourself as a person. I can’t say I was like this before the Challenge. The challenge had a huge impact on my personal skills, my interpersonal relations, and how I can relate within a team.”

Brian Stephen: “One of my main pieces of advice to young innovators is to first understand the community. Put yourself in their shoes. Also, consider the planet: think of the social impact and for the betterment of future generations.”

Rosemary: “Innovators should not ignore challenges. They should keep trying, because life gets boring when challenges disappear.”