Students from London South Bank University have been named winners of the 2025/26 UK and Ireland Engineering for People Design Challenge Grand Finals, held at Millennium Point in Birmingham on Friday 19 June.
Their design for Canal-Side Floating Infrastructure Pods impressed judges with its innovative response to challenges facing Ladywood, Birmingham, securing first place among 36 finalist teams from universities across the UK and Ireland.
But the Grand Finals celebrated more than outstanding student projects. It offered a glimpse into the future of the profession – one where engineering is shaped as much by empathy, collaboration and systems thinking as it is by technical excellence.
What is the Challenge?
Delivered by Engineers Without Borders UK in partnership with Engineers Without Borders South Africa, the Engineering for People Design Challenge asks students to rethink what engineering is for. Rather than beginning with a technical problem, participants begin with people – exploring the lived experiences, aspirations and priorities of a real community before developing solutions that respond to local needs.
This year’s challenge focused on Ladywood, Birmingham – a neighbourhood characterised by creativity, resilience and strong community leadership, while also facing challenges linked to economic inequality, ageing infrastructure, and the climate and ecological emergency.
Working alongside community partner CIVIC SQUARE, students explored what it means to design with communities rather than for them, using interviews, local stories and systems thinking to develop solutions rooted in context rather than assumptions.
The 2025/26 programme engaged more than 13,800 students across eight countries, with the top UK and Ireland teams progressing to the Grand Finals. Their proposals demonstrated that meaningful engineering begins with understanding people and place.
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.”
Winning designs
The finalists were judged by a panel of industry experts and community representatives who generously volunteered their time. Meet the judges.
First Place: London South Bank University – Canal-Side Floating Infrastructure Pods
The Ladywood Brook Pods are modular 2m × 6m floating platforms that transform Birmingham’s canal into accessible public space without using scarce land. Hidden rubber joints absorb boat wakes to keep walkways level and wheelchair-friendly, while solar-powered modules with battery storage provide lighting and charging points across the network. Built by local apprentices, the pods also incorporate metal firebreaks and quick-release pins, allowing them to be detached in just 30 seconds.
The judges said:
“By combining vigorous risk analysis with a willingness to embrace external feedback, they created a scalable and adaptable solution that delivers vital third spaces for young people and exemplifies engineering at its best.”
Second Place: Liverpool John Moores University – Solar-Powered Hydroponic System
This project proposes a community-run, solar-powered hydroponic system that enables year-round food production. Built from recycled materials, it harvests rainwater through a sedum roof filter to create a sustainable growing space.
Ladywood faces food insecurity, limited green space, contaminated soils and cost-of-living pressures that restrict local food growing. The project addresses these challenges by increasing access to fresh produce, enhancing biodiversity, and strengthening local resilience, community cohesion and dignity.
The judges said:
“The way they addressed the problem with their iterative approach to the design, and the emphasis they placed on the community stewardship model, giving agency over food production to the community, won us over.”
People’s Prize: Heriot-Watt University – HydroGuard: Adaptive Flood-Resilient Drainage System
HydroGuard is a retrofittable drainage unit designed to tackle recurring flooding in Ladywood, where ageing sewers and blocked drains put around 10% of residents at risk. Using passive hydraulics, the drain grill automatically rises during heavy rainfall, while an integrated debris basket helps prevent blockages. The system requires no power supply or structural changes and is manufactured from polypropylene and GRP. It also includes QR code that links to a community reporting app.
You can explore all of this year’s finalist solutions on CrowdSolve.
Engineering education for a changing world
Now in its fifteenth year, the Engineering for People Design Challenge has reached more than 115,000 students across eight countries since launching in 2011, supporting universities to deliver project-based learning that equips future engineers with the knowledge, skills and mindsets needed for globally responsible engineering.
As the challenges facing society become increasingly interconnected, engineers are being asked to do more than solve technical problems. They must understand context, navigate complexity, engage meaningfully with communities and work across disciplines to create solutions that are equitable, sustainable and resilient.
The Engineering for People Design Challenge exists to help prepare the next generation with the skills and mindsets required of an engineer in the 21st century.
Registration for the 2026/27 Engineering for People Design Challenge is still open.
Photographs by Angela Grabowska
With thanks to our programme partners
