Devishi
Kapoor

BSc (Hons) Product Design student, Devishi Kapoor was part of a group of students who entered the 2021 Engineers Without Borders (EWB) UK Engineering for People Design Challenge. Their design – a Caja Fria fridge for local communities in Peru – won both the Peoples’ Prize Award and the Grand Prize.

Congratulations on winning the Grand Prize at the EWB People Design Challenge. Can you tell us more about the project and how you got involved with it?

The Engineers Without Borders Competition encourages solutions where engineering can have long term positive social impact to benefit people and the environment.

We solved the brief as part of our coursework and went through several rounds of qualification and feedback to win both the Grand Prize and People’s Prize - our design was an energy-free terracotta refrigerator with a water filtration system.

The most challenging part was having to empathise with people in a small town in Peru - a geography that is remote and meant working within the limited resources available.

What made you choose NTU and what’s been your experience of the course so far?

I chose to study at NTU because of the course structure, module options and teaching facilities, which I believe are some of the very best in the UK.

Studying at NTU has been everything I imagined and more. The tutors are so supportive and there is always someone to reach out to. Nottingham as a city is brilliant as well – not too big and not too small, with lots going on!

In terms of academics, NTU’s contact hours and teaching rigour is far greater than other universities, which suits me well as I like to be challenged. Most significantly the mental health, learning and wellbeing support offered is unmatched.

What extracurricular activities have you been involved during your course?

I’ve been involved in extracurricular activities since day one – the breadth of the opportunities really means that there’s something for everyone!

I’ve worked in student mentoring and ambassador roles, the Global Lounge, teaching in Nottingham schools through the CenSUS programme, participating in societies, and most significantly, volunteering and running Enactus NTU projects.

What’s been your favourite project you’ve worked on so far?

We did a two-week project with Tesco to reduce single-use packaging in the supply chain. Being personally invested in Zero Waste shopping, this project aligned very well with my interests. The short deadline was really exhilarating and the focus on the wholistic sustainable system rather than just the technicality of the product provided a broader learning outcome compared to other projects.

Best of all, we got the chance to present live to the Head of Sustainability at Tesco. This meant we received real industry feedback to influence our design practice.

What career are you hoping to pursue when you finish at NTU?

I want to pursue user experience or human factors research and design after I graduate, with an interest in behavioural science.

During my placement year, I worked in user experience design at Tata Consultancy Services which provided useful and relevant work experience. I like to apply design thinking methods to my other volunteering projects and try to read widely to stay updated about commercial awareness in the field.

How would you promote NTU to potential students in 10 words or fewer?

NTU will stand behind you and push you forward.