The event was a three day program consisting of two days of sight seeing followed by the green challenge event on the final day. There were approximately 140 projects present; all of which were to a very high standard and some which were on the verge of entering the market. There was also a large international presence with projects from universities in Germany, Norway, Italy, Singapore, Korea and many more.

The first day we were taken on a tour of the city, visiting landmarks such as the round tower, the little mermaid via a canal boat tour and the free town of Christainia. We also got the opportunity to try some Danish delicacies at a traditional restaurant in the heart of the city. Copenhagen is a beautiful city with plenty of character and history so it was a fantastic experience.

The second day we travelled to the DTU campus for a tour and to gain an insight into some of the projects being undertaken. We began the tour by visiting the Indoor Environment Research facility where a mock up of the inside of a plane was one of the highlights. We then visited the acoustic engineering department and enjoyed entering a large suspended echoless room, which was an unusual experience to say the least! We then visited the Electric Power and Energy centre where enormous equipment capable of simulating lightening bolts was one of the most memorable moments. Finally, we visited the mechanical engineering labs and had the chance to see the universities award winning bioethanol powered car, ‘Dynamo’. The university facilities were hugely impressive and it was really interesting to learn more about the university itself.

The Green Challenge event took place on the last day of the program and each project group were given time to set up a booth which three panels of judges would visit throughout the day to listen to the pitches. The judging panels included a number of high profile figures including politicians, industry experts and company directors. The project we were presenting was a wave energy converter, which is a device capable of making electricity from the waves, supervised by Dr. George Aggidis. Many of the groups had posters and models to help in explaining the project and we would have had a scale prototype if it weren’t for a mix up by the flight company. There was a fantastic variety of projects on show from ipad apps to technology for cleaning up oil spills. It was fascinating to chat to other project groups and understand what their projects were about. We also had many members of the public and other contestants coming to ask questions about our project throughout the day.

Following the presentations, everyone congregated for the award ceremony however we were initially treated to a Danish ‘entertainer’ similar to Derren Brown who stunned the audience with a number of tricks. The awards were broken down into a number of categories including course projects, bachelors projects and masters projects, which were then separated into ideas and concept catagories. We were amazed to be awarded second place in the masters project concept category winning a prize of 10000 Danish Kroner (£1000). Following the award ceremony we filtered out into the university gardens for a barbeque provided by DTU and later enjoyed a specially organised concert featuring a well-known Danish rock band.

We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and it was fantastic to discover Copenhagen and DTU, as well as expose our project on an international level. We would like to thank DTU University and everyone who aided in the organisation of the event as they made it a pleasure to take part in.

Find about more about GRØN DYST (Green Challenge)