Cleantech Commons Partners with “Rain It In” Student Competition

Cleantech Commons™ has partnered with Rain It In – an annual competition that challenges post-secondary students to create innovative solutions that will mitigate the impacts of intense rainfall events and flooding caused by climate change.

As part of our support, Cleantech Commons executive director, Martin Yuill, will serve as a student mentor and will be presenting a Skills Development Workshop in March this year.

See: Creative Climate Change Solutions Sought Through Student Competition  & Register Now for Rain It In Competition

“In Trent University and Fleming College Peterborough has two top-rate environmental academic institutions, and it would be wonderful to see our region’s students embrace this opportunity to contribute to the fight against climate change,” Yuill says.

“Our partner, Trent University,” Yuill emphasizes, “has a reputation as a world-leading environmental university.” In December 2020 Trent was named #3 in Canada, and among the top 100 most sustainable university campuses worldwide, in the 2020 UI GreenMetric World University Rankings.

As part of the Rain It In competition, students gain hands-on experience as they research the impact of uncommon rainfall events and the risks of increased flooding. Teams selected to participate will receive support from industry experts to bring their projects to life.

“Rain It In provides a unique experiential learning opportunity for students where they can take the knowledge and skills they are developing through their education and apply it to a challenging real-world problem,” Yuill says.

Climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of historically uncommon rainfall events. The flooding caused by these severe downpours causes issues such as:

• Untreated wastewater to discharge or spill into our water bodies.
• Sewage back-ups into our homes and businesses.
• Damage to our infrastructure.
• The safety of the public to be put at risk.
• Pollutants including oil, lawn fertilizers, and animal waste to wash into our waterways.
• Beach closures.

Check out previous Rain It In competition solutions here!

Registration is now open for Rain It In’s 3rd annual competition! This year’s competition will be hosted virtually.

Why Participate?

Rain It In provides a unique experiential learning opportunity for students where they can take the knowledge and skills they are developing through their education and apply it to a real-world problem.

Through a mentorship program, students can network with industry professionals and learn about different career paths in the water space.

The competition is also a great extra-curricular activity that can help students develop technical and transferable skills and participation can be added to a resume to help students stand out from other candidates when applying to jobs.

After the competition, Rain It In will assist students interested in pursuing the development of their solutions by connecting them with resources, mentors and programs.

In supporting students with the transition from ideas to entrepreneurship and product commercialization, Rain It In is creating new career opportunities and ultimately implementing solutions that will positively impact communities and the environment.

• • Registration closes January 24th, 2021
  • Informational Webinar, January 2021
  • Mentorship Workshop, February 2021
  • Skills Development Workshop, March 2021
  • Project Pitches, March 2021
  • Next Steps Webinar, April 2021
  • If you or someone in your network is interested in volunteering as a project mentor, please sign up here.