Shell is calling for students to enter a global contest that gives them the opportunity to develop ideas to help tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. The Shell Ideas360 initiative aims to develop an innovation to address the issue of providing global access to three of the most basic human needs: food, water and energy.
A 2016 survey from PayScale showed that employers are looking for evidence of critical thinking and problem solving skills. The study supports the findings of a 2015 report by the Association of American Colleges and Universities that showed communication skills and teamwork were top of recruiters’ lists when interviewing university leavers.
Launching Shell Ideas360, Shell Vice President of Recruitment Jeroen de Weerd said, “The world’s largest and most innovative companies are constantly competing for the best talent. Getting involved in competitions like Shell Ideas360 gives students a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate their ability and provide a stepping-stone to achieving greater things in life.”
Shell Ideas360 has been the catalyst for inspiring innovations such as nature-inspired self-cooling cars, boats powered by waves and footsteps that can be transformed into light.
As the world’s population increases, so does the stress on the planet’s resources. Access to, and aspirations for, higher living standards means we all need to get involved and combine efforts in taking care of our planet.
Shell Ideas360 is far more than an opportunity to gather innovative concepts to improve communities. Along with giving students the opportunity to showcase their skills, it provides the chance to learn from global experts, meet industry leaders and work on presentation skills by pitching ideas in public.
Participants can enter on their own or in a team of up to three people, with a chance to discuss their ideas in an online community. Each member of the finalist teams will travel to the 2017 Make the Future festival in London, and receive a personalized medal.
The winning team will receive the Shell Ideas360 trophy and each member of that team will win a National Geographic Adventure – with previous winners travelling to locations including the Galapagos Islands and the Arctic Circle in Sweden.
Almost 1,000 student teams from 140 countries worked on their innovations during the 2016 Shell Ideas360 competition.
Last year’s winners were a team from the University of Illinois who developed The Lean Mean Graphene Machine—a coating process that cools water pipes in condensers, helping make power plants more efficient while minimising their environmental footprint.
Last year, team Blemished from The University of Manchester developed an idea to help combat food waste. They found that every year, retail chains and supermarkets reject a staggering 20% – 40% of perfectly edible produce simply because it is misshapen or “imperfect.” Blemished aims to source this produce from farmers and sell it to bulk buyers such as restaurants and cafes as well as individual households via an online platform offering a produce delivery service at low costs. This should in turn reduce food waste, and therefore the excess methane that is produced from the decomposition of unused produce, which harms the environment.
And the 2015/2016 finalists from the Indian Institute of Technology developed a system to increase the country’s crop production by 1.5%.
Time is running out to join the contest—ideas need to be registered by noon (GMT) on January 20, 2017. For full terms and conditions and to enter, visit www.shellideas360.com.
