Sagar, Nirina bag Green Talent Award 2018

Young Nepali researchers, Sagar Kafle and Nirina Khadgi, were awarded with Green Talents Award 2018 in Germany from Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
The Green Talents Award has been honouring talented researchers since 2009 and provides young scientists with a platform for sharing their views on green concepts to make the world a better place. The award is under the patronage of the Minister of BMBF Anja Karliczek. This year, a high-ranking jury of experts selected 25 up-and-coming researchers from among the 736 applicants from more than 100 countries.
Sagar, permanent residence of Biratnagar, works as a Lecturer at Purwanchal Campus, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Dharan. After receiving Master Degree from South Korea, his strong desire to work for the homeland brings him back to the country and since last few years. He is currently working to establish a large-scale fuel pellet plant in Nepal, the pellet having identical properties as the coal, and that can be used as coal in the Cement and Brick Industries. Besides teaching, Sagar also motivates the youth in the research and organize discussion forums to create a platform for researches and policy makers for formulation of research and green energy friendly policy in the country. Sagar is also associated with the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA). Sagar’s idea ‘Green Coal Pellet’ has also topped the Climate Launchpad national competition and the idea is representing the country in grand final in Scotland this year on first week of November.
Nirina, resident of Kathmandu, is doing research on treatment of water using an advanced technology that uses solar light. She graduated in Environmental Science from Central Department of Environment Science, Tribhuvan University and currently doing PhD in Hohai University, China. According to Nirina, with our changing lifestyle there are different chemicals that end to our streams. These chemical are unregulated and often go untreated in streams causing a huge impact in the water ecosystem and health. She is trying to enhance the efficiency of water treatment processes not only to improve human health, but also to contribute to reduction in overall levels of pollution. She plans to increase the awareness about these chemicals in waters and bring the attention of the stakeholders towards formulating and implementing effective water regulation and developing treatment facilities.
Since 13 October, the awardees are attending “Green Talents – International Forum for High Potentials in Sustainable Development” in Germany and are visiting the hotspots of green science in eastern Germany and met with sustainability research elite and some of the most renowned research institutions and companies, including Technical University of Dresden, the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research as well as the Institute for Social-Ecological Research in Frankfurt.The awardees also get fully funded research stay for 3 months in Germany in 2019 at an institution of their choice.
Sagar and Nirina, and others Green Talents were honoured by receiving the award from state secretary of BMBF, Dr. Georg Schüttein a ceremony at ministry hall. The award ceremony were attended by representatives of the institutions, jury members, embassy representatives and other distinguished guests.