{"id":21614,"date":"2026-02-04T11:59:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T03:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/?post_type=nus-news&#038;p=21614"},"modified":"2026-02-04T11:59:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T03:59:18","slug":"globalsustaincomp2026","status":"publish","type":"nus-news","link":"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/news\/globalsustaincomp2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Team from NUS CEE and USTC Recognised at Stanford University\u2019s Global Sustainability Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">A student team from the NUS Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has been recognised at the Global Sustainability Challenge (GSC) organised by the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. The team comprises Hiew Wing Yian, a PhD student from NUS CEE, and Lai Jun Tung, a Master\u2019s student from USTC.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 12pt\">Competing in the Climate Adaptation category, the team was selected among the top 250 out of 845 teams worldwide to advance to Phase 2 of the competition. At the Asia-Pacific Regional Final held at Zhejiang University, their two projects achieved outstanding results &#8211; <b>First Prize for <i>Waste Mining<\/i> and Second Prize for <i>Zen Ascend<\/i><\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 12pt\"><b>Project Highlights:<\/b><br \/>\n* Waste Mining (First Prize): A digital, microbe-powered system that converts food waste into clean energy and low-carbon materials, reducing emissions from both waste management and cement production.<br \/>\n* Zen Ascend (Second Prize): A modular, sensor-enabled solution that detects early structural tilting in flood-prone housing, enabling proactive intervention and strengthening community resilience.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-21617 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic03.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"724\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic03.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic03-207x300.jpg 207w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\" style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 12pt\"><em>Poster session showcasing the Zen Ascend project during the regional finals.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-21616 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic02.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"722\" height=\"482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic02.jpg 722w, https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic02-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 722px) 100vw, 722px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\"><em>Poster session showcasing the Waste Mining project during the regional finals.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 12pt\"><br \/>\nThe Global Sustainability Challenge is an annual initiative that empowers university students to develop actionable solutions to environmental and social challenges through a three-phase process\u2014Ignite, Build, and Shine\u2014supported by expert mentorship. The competition offers valuable exposure, allowing students to translate research ideas into real-world applications, gain international experience, and grow through interdisciplinary collaboration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-21615 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"854\" height=\"641\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic01.jpg 854w, https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic01-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic01-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 854px) 100vw, 854px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">Team photo: Hiew Wing Yian (NUS) and Lai Jun Tung (USTC) at the Asia-Pacific regional finals of the Global Sustainability Challenge at Zhejiang University.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-21618 size-large aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic04-1024x377.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic04-1024x377.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic04-300x110.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic04-768x283.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/globalsustaincomp2026_Pic04.jpeg 1065w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 12pt\"><br \/>\nOur warmest congratulations to <strong>Wing Yian<\/strong> on her outstanding achievements and for representing NUS with excellence.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A student team from the NUS Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has been recognised at the Global Sustainability Challenge (GSC) organised by the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. The team comprises Hiew Wing Yian, a PhD student from NUS CEE, and Lai Jun<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":273,"featured_media":21617,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"news_category":[62,61,60],"class_list":["post-21614","nus-news","type-nus-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news_category-all-news","news_category-competitions","news_category-students"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Student Team from NUS CEE and USTC Recognised at Stanford University\u2019s Global Sustainability Challenge - Civil and Environmental Engineering | NUS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/cee\/news\/globalsustaincomp2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Student Team from NUS CEE and USTC Recognised at Stanford University\u2019s Global Sustainability Challenge - Civil and Environmental Engineering | NUS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A student team from the NUS Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has been recognised at the Global Sustainability Challenge (GSC) organised by the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. 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