You cannot help but feel optimistic as you enter Zone 4 and are surrounded by examples of how we are Building a Better World With Skills. Take the simple but highly effective water bike that demonstrates how skills and cooperation can solve complex problems. Designed by staff and students at Sheridan College, Canada, the water bike is a pedal-powered purification system that can pump six litres of clean water a minute. It is impossible to pass it without giving it a try!
The system was a test project for the Industrial Mechanic Millwright skill competition at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017. Competitors were encouraged to blend machining, welding, fabrication, precision alignment, layout, and precision handwork to create a prototype that would provide clean water and electricity to communities where access to safe water is a challenge, and where electricity supplies are unreliable or non-existent.
Millions of people around the world do not have access to clean water, and every year, 3.5 million people die due to water shortages or consuming contaminated water. Alarmingly, 80% of water used worldwide is disposed untreated in the environment. Globally, it is a complex issue to address which is why access to clean water is Goal 6 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). The big-picture solution requires a combination of technology and lateral thinking, driven by strong partnerships between skilled professionals, national and global institutions, and the private sector.
While the water bike may be just a single prototype, it is an excellent example of this kind of collaboration in action. It drew on the skills apprentices and post-secondary students from Sheridan’s Magna School for the Skilled Trades along with student members from the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Technology. Their pedal-powered idea uses a five-stage reverse osmosis to ensure the water supply is safe and free from contaminants. When used continuously at 30 revs per minute, it has an expected output of 100 gallons a day.
Its potential is transformative for communities. So much so that it caught the attention of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) after the Competition and was sent to UNIDO’s Learning and Knowledge Development Facility to help address scarce water resources in Morocco. Now, it is a cornerstone exhibit in Zone 4 and a testament to the ingenuity of humans and the power of skills when used for good.