Rwandan university students have achieved remarkable success in the prestigious Wege Prize competition held in the United States.
Teams from Rwanda secured first and third place in this global contest, showcasing their innovative solutions to pressing issues.
The Wege Prize competition, organized by Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University’s Wege Center for Sustainable Design with support from The Wege Foundation, spans nine months and involves expert judges from various fields.
At the final event on May 17, 2024, two Rwandan projects, FruiFresh and EcoFeed Pioneers, stood out. FruiFresh took first place, while EcoFeed Pioneers secured third place.
FruiFresh, a team consisting of five students from the University of Rwanda, INES Ruhengeri, and the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA), addressed the issue of post-harvest tomato losses in Rwanda.
Their innovative solution involves evaporative and energy-efficient charcoal cooling facilities. This project earned them the top prize of $30,000.
Claudine Kamanzi, a Conservation Agriculture student at RICA and the lead of FruiFresh, highlighted the impact of the Wege Prize on their team. “It significantly broadened our team’s perspective,” she said, expressing their determination to continue their journey.
Uwera Providence, a second-year Food Biotechnology student at INES-Ruhengeri, emphasized the importance of visual presentation in their project’s success, noting that their detailed illustrations made a strong impression on the judges.
In an exclusive interview with ICK News, Professor Gayle DeBruyn, the long-time coordinator of the Wege Prize, praised the Rwandan students for their dedication to improving their communities. “I am impressed by the students we met who are deeply committed to improving the place they grew up in,” she remarked.
Professor DeBruyn also stressed the importance of time commitment and iterative learning in the competition. “We value the commitment of time: You test, try, study, and try again,” she said, advising participants to take feedback seriously and make necessary improvements.
The 2024 competition featured 58 teams from 38 countries, with Rwanda’s FruiFresh emerging as the top winner.
The total prize pool was $65,000, with FruiFresh winning $30,000 for their cooling solution. The second-place team, Senene Farm from Tanzania, won $20,000 for addressing child malnutrition. EcoFeed Pioneers from Rwanda received $10,000 for their sustainable animal feed innovation.
The Wege Prize is an annual event that encourages innovative solutions for the future. It inspires college and university students worldwide to collaborate across institutional, disciplinary, and cultural boundaries to redesign economic systems.
