6 Students, 5 Countries, 1 Sustainable Solution

Across three continents and 12 time zones, a group of high school students worked around the clock to develop a solution to the United Technologies Future of Buildings and Cities Challenge, alongside their mentor Patrick Dietz, stress engineer at UTC Aerospace Systems.

UTC employees offered their expertise in sustainable buildings to design this challenge, working closely with The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), which engaged some of the brightest young minds on earth. The winning team, and all participants, leveraged their cultural and regional differences to craft innovative solutions to the rapid urbanization of our world.

This summer, the winning team boarded planes in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Poland, and Romania to meet each other – and their mentor – in person for the first time at the UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings in Florida. They enjoyed touring the UTC facility, presenting to executives and engineers, and – no surprise – relaxing on the beach.

Then, the students hopped on a plane again. Next stop? The UTC Digital Accelerator in Brooklyn, NY. After taking action shots with panoramic views of the Brooklyn Bridge, students took their solutions to the next level through a design thinking workshop led by UTC digital engineers.    

Become a mentor for the next UTC competition – an aerospace challenge!