On Tuesday 18th November, the six College finalists of The Big Idea competition, supported by Advantage NI, met in Cultra for the awards ceremony. The programme challenged young people to come up with creative business solutions to improve their place of learning or community and was open to entries across Primary and Secondary schools, Colleges and Universities and to those outside of formal education. Of all the entries, South West College were the only organisation to have two groups through to the final, such was the high standard of their project ideas, one of which went on to win the trophy and prize fund.

The winning team are all part time Foundation Degree in Rural Sustainability students. As part of the course, they investigate renewable energy applications and related opportunities for small businesses. In particular they are interested in business planning for diversified income generating activities which have a positive impact on the environment.

The aim of their project was to collect waste paper, sawdust and other combustible arisings and compress these into briquette form. These briquettes can then be used in open fires and stoves etc as an alternative to traditional fuel sources. The project team used an off-the-shelf briquette processing machine to create briquettes initially from recyclable sources from within the College (paper, sawdust, cardboard etc) and after testing and validation would like to further expand this to include local authorities, community recyclable waste and private organisations.

“I am delighted with the Rural Sustainability group’s achievement in winning the Big Idea competition. This success will allow them to develop their idea into a business project to demonstrate innovative solutions to waste and resource problems. It also highlights the excellence of student achievement and innovation at South West College.”

Dr John Moore
Curriculum Manager

The students won £6000 to be spent on the project and also a trip to London to visit the Mars factory and meet with their product innovation team. With this fund, the group hope to achieve their vision; “Sustainable affordable heat from locally recycled waste at minimal cost to the environment” They are convinced the idea is sustainable as it meets the needs of the College, the wider community and also adheres to environmental policies. The group also have secured College support to ensure that this project will be established and aim to make this financially sustainable by ensuring the students on the course continue to manage it for the foreseeable future.