Students awarded for conservation efforts

Students of BITS Pilani have reason to celebrate. They bagged the first place and Dh10,000 at the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) Conservation Award, given to educational institutions and teaching establishments in Dubai for best practices in electricity and water consumption. Students Sanket Mehta and Saumya Awasthi said they plan to use the prize money to procure new technology and accessories for recycling for the BITS Pilani campus. Mehta, a fourth-year engineering student, said: “This is the second time we’ve won this award; the first time was in 2010. We want to procure new energy-saving technology for the campus which includes automatic flush and tap systems and instal solar lamps among other activities.” Jointly organised by the Dewa and the KHDA, the award, which is in its seventh year, is an integral part of the utility authority’s community outreach and engagement initiative for sustaining precious natural resources. It is held for a consolidated expenditure of Dh800,000. The awards went to universities, secondary-level, intermediate-level, primary- level, kindergarten as well as nursery students. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of the Dewa, said, “The award has yielded promising and remarkable results in the conservation of electricity and water. Educational institutions, students and faculty members who participated this year reduced the consumption of electricity by 13 per cent and water by 39 per cent, as compared to the consumption reduction levels of 2010,” said Al Tayer. Participants from the residential consumer segment reduced their consumption by 10 per cent in electricity, and 44 per cent in water in comparison to 2010 levels. Participants in all categories were able to save 28 million kWh. Another achievement was recorded in saving 123 million Imperial Gallons in water consumption. Accordingly, there was a reduction in CO2 emission of 17,000 tonnes, and the total savings recorded was around Dh17 million, added Al Tayer. The students of BITS Pilani said that they have worked actively and very hard towards their environmental goals. “We had organised a tree-plantation drive and we are now in talks with a recycling company to recycle our paper. As a college, we consume a lot of paper and we want to recycle it,” said 
Awasthi. Coming in third at the secondary level, students of the Dubai International Academy and their teacher Jennifer Hager were delighted at the result. “This is the first time that we applied to the awards and we won. I am really proud of my students,” said Hager.  Year 12 students of Dubai International Academy Shayan Mirzazadeh, Yasmin Ghanem and Thea Vadstein collected the award and prize money of Dh6,000. “ We are looking forward to implement newer technology around the school and we want to convert all the lights in our classrooms to LED,” said Thea. The students and their teacher added that there is a lot of focus on tapping clean sources of energy and waste reduction in the school. The University of Dubai came second. Special recognition was dedicated to the Dubai Police Adult Education Centre, an Adult Educational Centre, and Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs. Winners from the Nurseries Category included Mother Care Nursery (first place), Kangaroo Kids Nursery (second place), Jumeirah International Nursery (third place).