Business, Law & Psychology students are representing Malaysia in the Schneider Go Green 2023 Regional Finals

Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, named four undergraduate students from Brickfields Asia College and the University of Nottingham Malaysia as the champions of the local hackathon round for the annual Schneider Go Green 2023 global student competition held at Schneider Electric’s Petaling Jaya office.

Embedded within Schneider Electric's mission towards sustainability, Schneider Go Green is an annual competition that invites university students from around the globe to share their ideas for innovations that can help make the world cleaner, more inclusive, and more sustainable. First launched in 2011 by Schneider Electric, the competition has grown rapidly over the past 12 years.

Local winner, Team Alchemists, will represent Malaysia in the upcoming regional finals, scheduled virtually on 7^th September 2023, and run up against the country winners from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and South Korea. They are Vanessa Yew Sze Wei, Psychology student, University of Nottingham Malaysia; Lee Yee Huei, International Business student, University of Nottingham Malaysia; Lavinya A/P Puvanathan, Finance, Accounting and Management student, University of Nottingham Malaysia; and Evonne Hui Xin, Law student, Brickfields Asia College.

The theme for Schneider Go Green 2023 is “Circularity and Energy Efficiency for Buildings”. Within this context, Team Alchemists pitched a disruptive concept that aligned with the hackathon's core objective, which won them RM3,000 in cash, certifications, Green Premium^TM labelled Trailing Socket power strips and an internship opportunity with Schneider Electric (Malaysia). The idea was successful in tackling the challenge of motivating building owners to empower their occupants in reducing carbon footprint, achieved through the integration of technology.

Eugene Quah, Country General Manager for Malaysia of Schneider Electric: “For the first time in the Schneider Go Green competition, we witnessed a remarkable evolution in the local participation this year. Traditionally, our competitions have predominantly drawn engineering and IT students into the fold. However, this year has ushered in an inspiring shift and convergence of a spectrum of sectors, with students hailing from disciplines such as business, finance, law, and psychology. This convergence is a testament to the universal relevance and urgency of sustainable practices in buildings, which presently account for 30 percent of total global CO² emissions.”

In preparation for the regional finals, the winning students will receive professional mentorship and guidance from segment leaders, product application engineers and sales managers from Schneider Electric. These experts were selected based on their involvement in crucial aspects of the innovation process, including opportunity assessment, conceptualisation, and market release. The Regional finalists from Middle East & Africa, North America, Greater India, East Asia & Japan, South America, Pacific and Europe will be invited to an International gathering to celebrate their bold ideas.

Securing the position of first runner-up was Team Emaculate Energy (EE) from the University of Malaya, a trio comprising Sarvagjnaa Divya, Abdul Azeem Bin Muhammad Nazri, and Teoh Jian Wei. The second runner-up spot was earned by Team TULC from Taylor’s University, a dynamic ensemble composed of Natalie Soo, Teoh Jin, Ng Wei Xiang, and Kok Qi Lam.

The local hackathon saw the participation of teams from six local and international universities, including University of Malaya, Monash University Malaysia, Taylor's University, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, University of Nottingham Malaysia and Brickfields Asia College.