皇家华人

Most of us couldn鈥檛 imagine a world without easy access to reliable electricity sources. But for the majority of the population in Myanmar, a lack of electricity is their everyday reality.

, Engineering for International Development (EfID) MSc alumna Natasha Allen saw an opportunity to put her knowledge and skills to good use, founding and becoming Managing Director of, a social enterprise that seeks to enable rural聽communities to more effectively manage and operate their off-grid electricity systems, with an initial focus on Myanmar.

Existing mini-grids in rural Myanmar typically run for only a few hours per day, generate electricity that is more expensive than the Myanmar national grid average, and run on environmentally unfriendly and expensive diesel. Natasha and her team have found that these rural communities want to improve their mini-grids, but lack the expertise and finance to do so. Mee Panyar was founded to address both these issues. 聽聽

Natasha, who graduated from UCL in 2018, has started a , which will show local rural electricians, or meesayar, how to improve existing mini-grid electricity systems, and how to hybridise current diesel technology with solar electricity. Such聽hybridisation aims to result in lower household energy prices, increased operator profit, and reduced carbon emissions. Initially set to be trialled in one area, if successful, the training and support will be rolled out to reach more of rural Myanmar. As Natasha comments, 鈥�rather than start from scratch, we believe that we can achieve more, and have lasting impact, by building on what communities have already built themselves.鈥�

Noting how her聽MSc EfID experience has helped her career path, Natasha comments that the programme 鈥渞eally solidified the understanding that 30% of the solution is technology and 70% is people, which, as it turns out, is the hardest part! I really enjoyed that most of our courses emphasised project-based learning and encouraged us to think holistically and practically about the actual challenges of working on engineering problems in developing contexts.鈥�

With over $30,000 raised already, Mee Panyar鈥檚 fundraiser is almost at its target goal - however, the full $40,000 must be raised in order for Mee Panyar to receive anything. Nevertheless,聽such success聽is something to celebrate for , MSc EfID founder and Natasha's former programme director.聽鈥淚 am exceptionally proud of Natasha鈥檚 success so far with Mee Panyar, and I will continue to watch developments eagerly. It is wonderful to see our MSc EfID students develop over the course of the programme, exploring their passion for international development, and gaining the skills and knowledge to put such聽passions and interests to good use. Our students and alumni continue to inspire me with their visions for how engineering can help make people鈥檚 lives, and the world, better.鈥�

Links

• Engineering for International Development MSc 聽
• Life at CEGE page (see Natasha鈥檚 case study)