Commemorating the 20-year milestone of P3 and the resurrection of the physical National Student Design Expo
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) Program is a national competition that encourages college and university students to apply their STEM-based learning to create innovative projects addressing sustainability challenges.
In the 2023 competition, the P3 Program emphasised team-based, interdisciplinary, and real-world experiential learning. This approach fosters collaboration across disciplines and sectors, focusing on community-scale environmental solutions like stormwater management, composting, and consumer behaviour studies related to sustainability.
The program encourages projects that integrate social justice aspects, including housing justice, environmental justice, and health equity, reflecting a broad commitment to addressing systemic inequities through innovative sustainability solutions.
The 18 student teams and two Patrick Hurd Sustainability winners who attended the 2023 National Student Design Expo (NSDE) showcased projects that focused on various sustainability topics, such as detecting PFAS and microplastics in water and using low-cost air sensors to detect hazardous pollutants.
The NSDE, which took place at the TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, marked the first in-person P3 Expo since 2019 and the 20th year of the P3 Program.
Awarded student teams now have the opportunity to participate in the NSDE during the second year of their project. The P3 Program now awards up to $75,000 to each awarded student team to help bring their projects to fruition.
Past P3 teams have launched non-profits and founded start-up companies, demonstrating the program's impact on preparing students for the workforce with a full awareness of their impact on the environment, economy, and society.
The P3 Program also provides students with opportunities to develop business connections and practice project pitches. Interested individuals can learn more about the P3 Program, sign up for the P3 Listserv, and view past P3 awardee projects on the program's official website.
Since its inception in 2004, the P3 Program has awarded over $18M to 830 projects. The new program design allows teams more time to bring their projects to fruition before the NSDE.
The P3 Program's updated approach focuses on holistic sustainability practices that unify environmental, social, and economic dimensions with strong experiential and community engagement components. This reflects the program's commitment to preparing the next generation of leaders to tackle complex sustainability challenges and create a more sustainable future.
- The P3 Program's updated approach encourages interdisciplinary, team-based learning, aiming to unify environmental, social, and economic dimensions.
- Projects showcased at the 2023 National Student Design Expo focused on sustainability topics like detecting chemicals such as PFAS in water and using air sensors to monitor pollutants.
- The P3 Program fosters community-scale environmental solutions like stormwater management, composting, and consumer behavior studies related to sustainability.
- Students attending the P3 Program can learn about social justice aspects like housing justice, environmental justice, and health equity, reflecting a commitment to addressing systemic inequities.
- Past P3 Program participants have launched non-profits and founded start-ups, highlighting the program's impact on preparing students for the workforce with an awareness of their environmental impact.
- Interested individuals can learn more about the P3 Program, sign up for the P3 Listserv, and view past P3 awardee projects on the program's official website, encouraging lifelong learning and online education in environmental science and sustainability.
