Students from London Southbank University won at this year’s Engineering for People Design Challenge, held at Millennium Point in Birmingham on the 19th June. Joined by 100 of their fellow future engineers, the team’s design for Canal-Side Floating Infrastructure Pods to create vital third spaces took home first prize. In second place was Liverpool John Moores with an innovative solution to address food insecurity with Heriott Watt University claiming the publicly voted People’s Prize with their design for a flood-resilient drainage system.
Delivered by Engineers Without Borders UK in partnership with Engineers Without Borders South Africa, the Engineering for People Design Challenge invites university students to rethink the role of engineering in society and develop solutions that place people and planet at the heart of decision-making.
In first place is London Southbank University with its ‘Canal-Side Floating Infrastructure Pods’:
The Ladywood Brook Pods are modular 2mx6m floating platforms built on the Birmingham Canal to unlock public space without using scarce land. Linked by hidden rubber joints, they absorb boat wakes to keep walkways completely flat and safe for wheelchairs. Special modules use solar roofs and battery banks to keep public lights and charging docks active across the network. Built by local apprentices to create jobs, they feature metal firebreaks and quick-release pins to detach in 30 seconds.
In second place is Liverpool John Moores University with its ‘Solar Powered Hydroponic System’:
This project proposes a community-run, solar-powered hydroponic system that grows fresh produce, built from recycled materials, harvest rainwater through a sedum roof filter. Ladywood faces food insecurity, limited green space, contaminated soils and cost-of-living pressures that restrict local growing and weaken community dignity. Our project addresses these issues with the ability to grow fresh produce year-round, boost biodiversity and strengthen local resilience and community cohesion.
And People’s Prize goes to Heriott Watt University for its ‘HydroGuard: Adaptive Flood-Resilient Drainage System’:
Ladywood faces recurring flooding due to an ageing sewer network and blocked drains, putting 10% of residents at risk. HydroGuard is a retrofittable drain unit that uses passive hydraulics to automatically elevate the grill during heavy rainfall, while a debris basket prevents sewer blockages. No power or structural changes needed. Built from polypropylene and GRP, with a QR code leading to an app for community reporting. 600-unit pilot costs £82,000 with a payback period under one year.
Now in its fifteenth year, the award-winning programme has reached more than 120,000 students across eight countries, helping transform how engineering is taught and practised worldwide. With 11,000 taking place in the 2026 cycle.
Tom Whitehead, Education and Skills Lead at Engineers Without Borders UK, said: “This year’s finalists showed exactly why the future of engineering must be globally responsible. Their projects combined technical creativity with a real understanding of people, place and long-term impact – demonstrating the kind of thinking our sector urgently needs.”
You can view all of the finalist solutions on CrowdSolve.
Registration for the 2026/27 Engineering for People Design Challenge now still open: https://www.ewb-uk.org/upskill/design-challenges/engineering-for-people-design-challenge/
