Innovative energy-saving solar greenhouse idea wins Schneider Go Green student competition

Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced Team GreenOverMorrow from Morocco as the winner of Schneider Go Green, 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.

Spearheaded by Abir Werzgan, Hajar Werzgan and Omrane Derhy, Team GreenOverMorrow was awarded the title in recognition of their automated greenhouse solution: an IoT and AI-enabled, XaaS (Everything-as-a-Service) solution using solar panels alongside grid and crop data to reduce energy losses, save water and cut carbon emissions.

The judging panel, made up of senior executives from Schneider Electric and AVEVA, was particularly impressed by the applicability of the winning solution and the passion shown by the winning team to have a positive impact on farming in their region.

The judges congratulated all the finalists for their outstanding work, insightful presentations and the immense energy they showed. They commented that “Team GreenOverMorrow’s winning solution combines optimized energy management with a subscription service business model and can potentially unlock more sustainable food production, not just in Morocco, but in other parts of the world.”

The winning team, who are students at ENSAM University of Casablanca and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Ben Guerir, will receive a 10,000 euro cash prize. Seven other teams – each representing a different region– made it through to the final round of the competition. All participants received mentorship to help them fine-tune their ideas and pitch to the judges.

“With so many challenges now facing the planet – both environmental and social – we all have to help create a positive impact,” said Charise Le, Schneider Electric’s Chief Human Resources Officer. “Change doesn’t always have to be big-bang and top-down. In fact, innovations like these – targeted, grassroots and small-scale, but also bold and impactful – are an important part of the overall solution. It’s our responsibility to help them become a reality.”

First launched in 2011 by Schneider Electric, and now run in collaboration with the industrial software company AVEVA, Schneider Go Green has expanded rapidly over the past decade. In 2022 alone, more than 22,200 students from 200 countries registered for the event, and more than 3,700 submitted innovative ideas that fitted into the competition’s five categories: Access to Energy, Homes of the Future, Global Supply Chain of the Future, Grids of the Future, Decoding the Future.

The full list of finalists can be found here. For more details about the competition, including how to pre-register for the 2023 event, go to gogreen.se.com. 

Schneider Electric’s sustainability commitments, including those connected with fostering the next generation, are here, and more about sustainability at AVEVA can be found here.