Last month more than 800 high school and university students globally accepted the challenge from water technology leader Xylem to take on water and climate issues through the second annual Xylem Ignite Global Student Innovation Challenge.

“We’re committed to championing student innovators because young people hold the key to a more water-secure future,” says Xylem CEO Patrick Decker.

He adds that the results of this year’s competition show the power of their creativity and passion to address major water challenges.

Team SWiFT from Santa Clara, California, in the US, was the grand prize winner in the secondary (high) school category, awarded for their efforts to improve the life span of a water pump.

“The big problem is that water scarcity and water stress are plaguing many countries in Africa,” notes a team spokesperson, adding that more than one-million hand pumps installed in Africa support rural communities with one in five people relying on them for drinking water.

By creating a unique design to reduce repair time and provide easy access to troubleshooting, the team was able to address a 30% pump failure rate.

Team AquaFlo from Ontario and British Columbia in Canada is the grand prize winner in the university category for their design of two different technical solutions to notify users when a water hand pump is out of service.

Their concepts include an innovative mobile app, interactive voice response and an automated message service system.

“We are passionate about using technology for social good and were immediately drawn to the challenge of keeping water flowing in rural communities,” the AquaFlo team notes.

Further the team saw a real opportunity for it to improve the quality of life of a significant part of the population.

Now in its second year, the Xylem Ignite Global Student Innovation Challenge drew interest from students in 51 countries.