The two Product Design Engineering students designed Starry Light Tiles, a sustainable alternative to streetlights, in response to Red Bull’s brief to create something that used technology to drive positive change.

Amy and Teiba recognised that streetlights are costly to install and maintain but contribute to making people feel safe when walking at night. The Starry Light Tiles light up when stepped on, using a combination of energy harvesting technologies to make them 100% self-sufficient.

After reaching the national finals in November, the team impressed the judges enough to continue onto the global finals, where they made it through multiple rounds of pitching to be named one of three finalists.

The competition gave them the opportunity to network with other innovators and attend workshops hosted by industry experts including Manjula Lee (Founder and CEO of World Wide Generation) and Sam Jones (Founder of Gener8). 

On the experience, Amy said: “It was hugely empowering and has increased my belief in myself and my desire to make a positive impact.”

Teiba added: “We hope to continue moving forward in our development of energy harvesting streetlight tiles in order to make our streets a safer place for everyone and help create greener cities.”