Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) Engineering students have won the first and second prizes in the annual Best Student Research Poster Competition, with the winning entry designing a new resilient home for the Highlands of Papua New Guinea
Organised by SIT’s Research Office, the poster competition was held on Friday 7th November in Te Rau o te Huia – SIT Centre for Creative Industries. Fifteen posters were entered in the competition this year and were judged by staff from the Research Office and Library based on three components - visual, content, and impact.
School of Advanced Engineering Programme Manager and Engineering Tutor, Carlo Gabriel, was delighted with the results, with New Zealand Diploma in Engineering (NZDE) students securing both first and second place for their research posters.
The top prize went to Year 2 students, Marieli Remolazo and George Villanueva for their research project, Resilient Homes in Papua New Guinea: Where Culture Meets Engineering. (Engineering: Civil), winning $250.
The project aimed to produce safe, durable, sustainable, and culturally appropriate housing for the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Highlands, which resulted in the students developing an improved housing design, merging local architecture with modern engineering practice.
Their research showed that traditional houses are well adapted to the climate but lacked long-term strength, whereas modern methods improve safety but are costly and culturally detached.
The pair conducted conceptual modelling and completed structural load calculations, evaluating local materials such as treated timber, bamboo, and coconut husk insulation for their cultural relevance and durability.
Their analysis resulted in a hybrid model, combining a timber stilt foundation, reinforced concrete pads, insulated walls, and corrugated iron roofing, which achieves both structural and environmental goals, without losing cultural authenticity. They also recommended developing site-specific prototypes and builder training locally to support sustainable housing in the region.
The students stated the project demonstrated that blending engineering innovation with traditional wisdom can produce housing that is safe, sustainable, and culturally meaningful.
The judges assessed the winning poster as excellent in every category: it had a clean layout and structure, clear explanations, and addressed a problem with clear impact for its community.
The runner-up poster was "A microscale valve solution for the future of healthcare" by Russell de Villena (Engineering: Mechanical), winning $200. This project used Computer Aided Design and Computational Fluid Dynamics to design and simulate a new valve for small-scale healthcare applications. The judges praised the numerous clear and informative diagrams on the poster, and the focus on real-world applications with high potential for impact.
Two other posters received highly commended awards from the judges. These were both from Bachelor of Environmental Management students: "Assessment of nitrogen levels in stormwater: monitoring techniques and environmental implications", by Frances Claire Gatus, and "Consumer behaviour & awareness of The Pantry Store in Invercargill: Motivations, Barriers, and Sustainable Food Choices" by Amanda Glozer.
The judges commented that the overall level of presentation of the posters continued to increase every year.
Mr Gabriel was particularly pleased with the results as the NZDE students were competing against participants from bachelor’s degree programmes, and he offered his thanks to the organisers for allowing diploma students to participate. “… [it’s] even more impressive that they led the competition. This achievement shows the high calibre of research projects produced within SIT’s NZDE programme.”
The winning students will be formally recognised with certificates and prize money at the upcoming SIT Awards Night.