Xylem Engages First 1,700 Students in Global Youth Program: Xylem Ignite
July 07 2021 - 10:00AM
Business Wire
Flagship Innovation Contest Draws Students From
47 Countries to Solve Water Challenges
Xylem (NYSE: XYL), a leading water technology company, is
investing in the future of the global water industry with a new
dedicated student development program – Xylem Ignite – targeting
high school and university students worldwide. Midway through its
inaugural year, Xylem Ignite has already engaged more than 1,700
students in creative water-oriented hackathons and sustainability
events, including 650+ participants from 47 countries competing in
the Xylem Global Student Innovation Challenge for $20,000 in total
cash prizes.
“Young leaders are playing such an essential role in our
collective ability to solve the global water crisis facing us,”
said Patrick Decker, Xylem’s Chief Executive Officer. “We want to
encourage them. So we’re investing in them with Xylem Ignite. The
future of water innovation is coming from many places, including
students who are engaging passionately to help address our water
challenges. We have a tremendous opportunity to embrace their ideas
and enable them to become the next generation of leaders working
for a sustainable world. Investing in them today will provide
enormous dividends for the communities we serve.”
Decker added, “I am deeply inspired to be working with so many
talented people who are passionate about solving water challenges
and creating a better future for our planet.”
Decker shared his remarks as part of today’s virtual student
award ceremony recognizing the winners of the inaugural Global
Student Innovation Challenge, Xylem Ignite’s flagship innovation
competition. The competition generated 103 final projects over
eight weeks, with three winners in each of the high school and
university categories receiving cash prizes totaling $20,000.
Contestants were invited to submit solutions to one of four
challenge statements, with access to masterclasses and support from
mentors across the water industry. The challenges included:
reducing the water footprint of everyday products; gamifying water
quality education; urban flood prediction; and water for life on
Mars.
University category finalist, the Mars-WET team, for example,
provided detailed solutions to sustaining life on Mars. “After
going through so much research on Mars, we realized that [our
innovations] can be applied on Earth, too. [We] believe that clean
water and sanitation is a human right and is fundamental to human
dignity.”
Young innovators developing solutions to various water problems
can also apply to be a part of the Xylem Ignite Innovation
Incubator. The Incubator program provides up to 12 months’ support
for participants to scale up their innovations and advance them
toward market readiness. Interested students can send an email to
igniteincubator@xylem.com for more information and to submit
applications.
Xylem Ignite was conceived in mid-2020 by a team of young
professionals in Xylem, as a platform to engage the passion and
creativity of students around the world. The investments are
targeted to give interested students access to the resources needed
to develop their ideas and innovations.
The Xylem Ignite program engages students to:
- Prioritize the need for the next generation of water
professionals across several career fields and all relevant
industries.
- Accelerate innovation through hackathon events, critical
problem-solving challenges, and incubator initiatives.
- Advance water sustainability education with training,
masterclasses and mentorship from Xylem leaders and industry
experts.
- Give back to the community with water-oriented
volunteerism.
For more information about Xylem Ignite, including on-demand
access of the awards event visit www.xylem.com/ignite. The full
Xylem Ignite media kit with high-res downloads, is available at
info.xyleminc.com/ignite. General inquiries about the program can
be directed to ignite@xylem.com.
About Xylem
Xylem (XYL) is a leading global water technology company
committed to solving critical water and infrastructure challenges
with innovation. Our more than 16,000 diverse employees delivered
revenue of $4.88 billion in 2020. We are creating a more
sustainable world by enabling our customers to optimize water and
resource management, and helping communities in more than 150
countries become water-secure. Join us at www.xylem.com.
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Media Amanda Holloway +1 (224) 500-0742
Amanda.Holloway@xyleminc.com
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