A group of female students from Dubai’s GEMS Our Own English High School has claimed the top position at the Burjeel Holdings-Oxford Said Climate Change Challenge. Their innovative solution for addressing air pollution earned them recognition during the award ceremony held at COP28. Acquifier Guardians from Ryan International School, New Delhi, clinched the first-place award for their effective drip irrigation solution to tackle water scarcity. The competition, which received over 600 ideas from students and teachers across 43 countries, was organized by the Said Business School of the University of Oxford and Burjeel Holdings, with support from organizations like Oxford University Press and the Eden Project.

The winners, Acquifier Guardians, emphasized the importance of drip irrigation in water conservation and shared their motivation to raise awareness about innovative strategies, such as the Bio-floc Arduino technology, to combat water scarcity and climate change effects. The runner-up, Entofarm, comprised a team of Korean boys living in different cities in South Korea, Indonesia, and the US. Their idea focused on revolutionizing farming to combat diseases carried by insects. The third-place team, ECO2 from Dubai, proposed a solution to tackle air pollution by converting CO2 and ammonia directly into fertilizers, promoting sustainable and effective access to fertilizers worldwide.

In the teacher’s category, Lucas Olscamp from Pearson School UWC, Vancouver Island, Canada, secured the top spot with a lesson plan focusing on embedding Indigenous beliefs in teaching. Laxmidevi Upadhyay from Udayachal High School in Mumbai, India, came second with a lesson plan centered on waste management, and Michael Jones from Northfleet Technology College in Northfleet, UK, focusing on computer science and climate change, secured the third spot.

All winners will have the opportunity to participate in a bespoke program at Oxford Said next year, with the runners-up in the teacher category attending the program virtually.