Wartburg College has made the Elite Eight round of the Clinton Global Initiative University’s “March Madness” against the University of Oklahoma.

Wartburg supporters are backing a student project to provide renewable energy in an African refugee camp. The latest round of the online poll runs through Monday, April 1, at 1 p.m. at  http://www.cgiu.org/bracket/.

The Clinton Global Initiative University Challenge, a competition of ideas, was launched by former President Bill Clinton leading up to his sixth annual CGIU conference in St. Louis, April 5-7, with 1,000 students representing more than 300 universities and 75 countries. The gathering will focus on education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation and public health.

Wartburg’s entry is “Renewable Energy for Development and Sustainability” from third-year students Daniel Sopdie, Cameroon; Aseya Kakar, the United Kingdom; and Linda Nkosi, Swaziland. 

The students would build a biogas digester that converts animal and plant waste into gas for a refugee camp in Mpaka, Swaziland. By creating an alternative gas for cooking, heating and lighting, they hope to improve the standard of living, increase the capacity of the youth to learn and enable the Mpaka community to be more sustainable through reduced deforestation.

Dr. Tim Ewest, director of Wartburg’s social entrepreneurship minor, is their adviser.

Oklahoma has a sustainable fish farming project.

More information about the Clinton Global Initiative University Challenge at http://www.cgiu.org/.