Energy Innovation Competition

Georgetown University and ENGIE (Georgetown’s energy partner) are looking for creative ideas to promote energy conservation in the Georgetown community and reduce our carbon footprint on campus.

The selected teams will be invited to work towards implementing their ideas and will also win prizes. The grand prize for the top winning team will be a week-long trip to Paris, France, visiting ENGIE’s headquarters.

Here is the prompt we are asking:

Background & Context
In July 2021, Georgetown took a huge stride towards sustainability and becoming a leader in carbon reduction efforts by collaborating with ENGIE and Axium Infrastructure – together known as Georgetown Energy Partners. They are now working behind the scenes to transform the energy landscape of Georgetown’s campus, highlighted by a 35% decrease in energy use intensity over 10 years. While working closely with Georgetown’s Office of Sustainability, Planning and Facilities Maintenance and other departments, they have made efforts to upgrade lighting, replace steam piping, improve air handlers, install solar and many other aspects of the University’s energy infrastructure. While these efforts have contributed significantly to the growing dedication to sustainability on campus, we can, as a community, always do more to ensure Georgetown thrives in a carbon-constrained future.

This is where our students come in: to support and learn from these projects through participation in internships and events such as the Energy Innovation Competition. Both opportunities are spaces in which students can share thoughts on how the Georgetown University community can promote energy-conscious behavior.

The Energy Innovation Competition is an effort to engage with the student body to develop ideas they believe will succeed at Georgetown, and to provide the resources and guidance to help implement them almost immediately.

“As a student you don’t often get the opportunity to implement a large project within the span of a year and see it come to life.”
– Charvee D., 2022 Contest Winner

Steps to Participate

1. Build your team (Minimum: one student, Maximum: four students)
2. Develop your idea for how GU could save energy, bearing in mind the prompt and evaluation details. (outlined below)
3. Declare your intent to participate, share your abstract and RSVP for the main event through this google form by Monday October 14, 2024.
4. Draft a winning proposal for an energy-saving initiative on campus that can be presented in 3 minutes or less, using PowerPoint and/or YouTube.
5. Submit your slides/video via email by Monday, October 21, 2024 at 10 a.m.
6. At least one team member must attend the “Main Event” on Tuesday, October 22, 2024 to present and respond to the Q&A.

Prompt

Judging Criteria
The winning proposal will be selected by a panel of judges, including GU staff and students. The proposals will be evaluated by these criteria:

1. Is your team’s idea student-oriented or student-driven?
2. Is your team’s idea implementable and actionable on Georgetown’s campus?
3. Can the scope of this plan fit within a budget of $25,000? How so?
4. Will it save energy and encourage participation from Georgetown community members?

Main Event Schedule, Tuesday October 22
6:00 PM Doors open, dinner is available
6:30 PM Welcome address, Liz King, Georgetown Planning & Facilities Maintenance
6:35 PM GU-ENGIE partnership overview, Bill King, Georgetown Energy Partners CEO
6:50 PM Event rules and reminders, Andy Ludwig, ENGIE Energy Conservation Measure Program Manager
7:00 PM Presentations begin (3 minutes each, followed by 2 minutes Q&A)
8:30 PM Final Four teams are announced, with 2 minutes to re-state pitch
9:00 PM Top Idea/Grand Prize winner is selected

Awards
The winning team (of 4, or less) will be presented with the opportunity to:

• Further develop and work with ENGIE and Georgetown staff to help implement their idea on campus Winter-Spring ‘25
• Participate in a 7-day trip to Paris, France in the summer of 2025, including a visit to ENGIE’s headquarters – provided that visa and group travel requirements can be met

The runner-ups will receive energy-efficiency related prizes.

Questions?
Reach out to the event coordinator by emailing GUEIC2024@gmail.com with any questions! We look forward to reducing Georgetown’s carbon footprint with you!