At indEx, our mission is to equip the next generation of engineers, designers, and innovators with practical experience tackling the world’s most pressing challenges. A recent engagement with final-year students at TEDI-London (The Engineering & Design Institute London) is a powerful example of this in action.
The Challenge: Water Insecurity in the Solomon Islands
The TEDI-London cohort was tasked with a humanitarian engineering project to design a sustainable water extraction system for communities in the Solomon Islands. This island nation, home to over 1000 islands and 72 languages, faces significant challenges when it comes to clean water access:
- 37.83% of residents lack safely managed drinking water
- Ranked among the 20 lowest countries globally in water access
- Unsafe water contributes to high child mortality and school drop-out rates
The students were expected to go beyond technical solutions—considering cultural, economic, and environmental dimensions to create a feasible, scalable, and impactful design.
The indEx Contribution: Mentorship & Design Feedback
To support this effort, TEDI-London students invited Moses Alicwamu, CEO of indEx and a seasoned humanitarian engineer, to provide feedback to their project. Moses brought real-world stories from Uganda and East Africa, lessons learned from deploying WASH systems in low-income regions, and practical advice on how to design for both function and impact.
Photo Credit: Justin Mako via LinkedIn
Key Takeaways for the Students:
- Understand
Your Stakeholders
"Create stakeholder assessments to deeply understand local context and power dynamics.” - Affordability
is Everything
"In humanitarian projects, the cost factor can make or break impact. Build for low-resource settings.” - Innovative
Funding Models Matter
"Explore options like carbon offset financing, corporate companies are looking to support social and climate impact.”
These lessons helped frame the students' design process, encouraging them to think more holistically and empathetically.
The Student Perspective
Justin Mako, one of the students, summed up the experience in a LinkedIn post:
“Had an amazing talk from Moses Alicwamu today! A specialist within Humanitarian Engineering. He gave us valuable insights and shared a variety of personal stories within the Humanitarian industry to help towards our final project before we graduate.”
The TEDI team is now working on selecting and refining the best ideas, and creating business and fundraising plans.
Why It Matters
This collaboration embodies what indEx is all about—connecting students to real-world problems, supported by mentorship from professionals who’ve done the work. It turns theory into action, and classrooms into launchpads for sustainable impact.
Interested in Giving Your Students Real-World Experience?
Join the growing network of universities and industry mentors collaborating through indEx. We help students gain critical professional skills, build powerful portfolios, and create solutions that matter.