Two Bangladeshi youths along with six Indian teammates wanted to sow the seed of change in Rourkela, a city of India, where they went to study. In order to turn the seed into a blooming plant, they had to nurture it with hard work, water it with intellect and use optimism as a fertiliser. Like every other journey, their project hit a few speed bumps; but they did strive to be glorious eventually.
This is the story of Sayed Fahim Ali Dawdye and Md Shakil Khan, two youngsters who claimed the 'Top 15 Champion Cities' spot in the 2021 Global Mayors Challenge sponsored by Bloomberg and powered by John Hopkins University. In the challenge, primarily 631 teams from different cities sent their ideas to fight problems in the given categories: economic recovery and inclusive growth; health and wellbeing; climate and environment; and gender and equality. Let's start our time travel machine and go back to 2017-2018 when their journey at the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela (NITR) started. They started studying at bachelors level at NIT in the Department of Computer Science and Enginnering.
Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Scholarship and NITR: Ever heard of, "Third time's a charm?" Shakil proved this phrase by sharing his experience: "I was so determined to get the scholarship that even though the first two times I failed, I got it in the third attempt." Only 200 students are awarded this scholarship so the competition is nerve-wracking. Fahim completed his middle and high school in India, so when the opportunity of ICCR came which will fully fund his under graduation, he seized the chance.
Shakil wanted to study at NIT and he got into the best NIT. He believed the extensive curriculum made NITR stand out. When Fahim was asked how they coped, he said, "All students are treated equally here and cooperation among students is strong. Our batchmates helped us and we never faced discrimination."
2021 Global Mayors Challenge: Unlike the culture in Bangladesh where usually students look for internships or jobs after completing undergrad, Indian students start this process from the second year of their under graduation. A company named 'Koel Fresh' offered internships where Fahim and Shakil applied. "At first, we didn't know Koel Fresh was gathering a team for a competition as well," said Fahim. "It was a total surprise when they informed us we were selected for this." Their eight-member team consisted of students from departments of CSE, Electrical Engineering, Food Process Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering from NIT.
Koel Fresh aimed to deliver fresh vegetables to the doorstep. When Shakil and Fahim went out to field, they were amazed by the overwhelming response. Shakil expressed his contentment saying, "The vendors said they never thought we would try to come up with a solution like this. Our purpose had never been clearer to me, it was for the greater good." Their idea was to build cold storages where these street vendors can store their vegetables and sell them the next day for the same price.
Project explanation: In easy words, their project is an IoT (internet of things) based cold storage where you can store vegetables in separate temperature-wise chambers and access information online. Out of 631 teams, only 50 made it to 'Top 50 cities'. This is when their idea turned to reality with the help of Bloomberg, Koel Fresh and Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC).
A small scale prototype with the capacity of 5.0 metric tonnes with different chambers and temperatures was made. The vegetable wise temperature was researched at the NITR Food Engineering Lab. Since the information will be stored in the cloud, temperature, unit etc. can be accessed online by the admin panel. Shakil and Fahim were in charge of developing IoT. Together they did wireframing of the app.
One of the main focuses of this project is to empower women. Self-help groups by women will inspect the vegetables before storing them. To exhibit their eagerness Fahim stated, "When you give women the chance to be empowered they become more resilient. So we thank the women who are so passionate to willingly contribute their 100 per cent." The constant emphasis on the women driven aspect of this technology immensely highlights their goal. Nevertheless, this cold storage serves the purpose of climate change solutions, women empowerment, social inclusion, all at once.
Shakil would often tell Fahim that he would leave this competition because both academics and the challenge were really tough to balance out. However, his determined self- spoke out, "Since the competition was so challenging in every step, I always tried to motivate myself. And I believe if I am not going to push myself, no one else is going to do it for me."
Top 15: All the hardship, stress, scolding from the team leader would be eased by one thing: end result. On January 18, 2022 they not only became a champion city but started a new chapter towards social welfare as well. While talking about Top 15, Shakil and Fahim both expressed their overwhelming emotion as well as confidence.
However, this is only the beginning. Now is their chance to turn the seed into a blooming plant by using the $10 million prize money and implementing their idea on a larger scale.
The youngsters didn't forget about their motherland. Fahim shared his hopeful thought, "We knew we would make it a reality, but we didn't know exactly when. I wish I could make Bangladesh world champion one day." If their project is implemented in Bangladesh, this would make the day of countless street vendors.
Their journey has obstacles, heartfelt moments, immense support, and life-changing points. This makes them stronger and more sensitive as individuals. This is an invitation for Bangladeshi students to strive to make a difference and live up to their potential.
The writer is a student at Holy Cross College, Dhaka.
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