For the second time in a row, an engineering student from the University of Skövde has won Best Contribution in Innovation at the Absolicons Solar Heat Innovation Week. This time, Houda el Hnoudi, a student at the Intelligent Automation Master's Programme, was awarded the prize. “I feel proud to have won the prize and to have represented the University of Skövde in the best way once again,” she says.
Engineering student Houda el Hnoudi from the University of Skövde has clinched the prestigious title of "Best Contribution in Innovation" at the Absolicons Solar Heat Innovation Week. It was the second consecutive time a student from the University of Skövde was awarded the prize. The Solar Heat Innovation Week 3.0 is a five-day programme, which is organised by Absolicon Solar Collectors and MG Sustainable Engineering. The purpose is to develop innovative ideas into solutions that will help achieve the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals.
This time, it was held in Härnösand, Sweden, and 19 students attended. Most of the students were from Swedish universities, but a few were from other European countries like Italy or Portugal.
“We were all engineering students but of different engineering programmes. Some of the students were working and doing a Master’s at the same time,” says Houda el Hnoudi.
Optimised using AI
Houda el Hnoudi, from Morocco, is doing her Erasmus+ programme from Spain, where she studied two Bachelor’s during six years. Her winning contribution was that she optimised production lines using AI in predictive maintenance and quality control.
“I think the reason I won is my perseverance, that I made an effort to make the presentation the best possible, and to learn as much as possible during the event. All the students had very good ideas and because of that, I felt very proud to have won the prize and to have represented the University of Skövde in the best way," she says.
“It was a unique experience in which we learned a lot about solar energy and sustainability. I met incredible people, we worked in groups and we did many presentations – the final one was in front of both companies that organised this event. We also had fun and did super fun activities like playing sky curling and playing board games.”
Encouraged by teacher
Enrique Ruiz Zúñiga, Associate Senior Lecturer in Production Engineering at the University of Skövde, was the one who recommended Houda to participate in the event.
“I thought this could be a good activity for students to practice what they have learnt during their engineering university studies, promote networking, and get closer to potential professional paths,“ says Enrique Ruiz Zúñiga.
For the second time in a row a student from the University of Skövde won Best Contribution in Innovation. How come the students from Skövde are so good at this?
“I couldn't say why. However, I think that studying engineering programmes in two different universities in different countries as part of the Erasmus+ programme can enrich the way students think and it promotes to think outside the box.”
Are you hoping more students will want to attend events like this?
“Yes. I encourage students to participate in this type of events because they can be very enriching personally and professionally. They are also a great opportunity to do benchmarking of projects and companies and to practice networking – useful skills for their future career paths.”
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