A team of four Mount Kenya University students has once again put the institution on the spotlight after securing a finalist award at the prestigious Wege Prize 2026, held recently in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The team, represented by Mr. Wesley Njenga, walked away with $2,500 for their groundbreaking innovation, EcoScrubber, a hybrid emission control and carbon-capture system that transforms toxic pollutants from incinerator chimneys into usable construction materials.
The Wege Prize, organized by Michigan-based Ferris State University’s Kendall College of Art and Design (KCAD), challenges university students from around the world to collaboratively solve complex, systems-level problems by developing products, services, and business models based on the three core principles of the circular economy: eliminating waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in circulation, and regenerating natural systems.
This year’s competition attracted 87 teams from over 30 countries, representing nearly 200 academic disciplines. Through a rigorous, iterative process spanning multiple phases, teams received in-depth feedback from expert judges, refining their rough concepts into fully-fledged frameworks. From this competitive field, the MKU team comprising Mr. Wesley Njenga, Mr. Franklin Mwendwa, Mr. Elijah Maina, and Mr. Ejike Chinyere, all from the School of Public Health emerged as one of five teams invited to pitch in the United States.
The inspiration behind EcoScrubber came from an ordinary yet powerful moment on a road in Thika. The students witnessed a truck belching thick black smoke while passersby struggled to breathe. That encounter sparked a compelling question: could those harmful emissions be captured and repurposed rather than left to pollute the air? The team took that question back to the university’s Innovation and incubation centre , where they began turning the concept into reality.
Speaking during the award ceremony, team lead Wesley Njenga expressed pride in how the University has supported their journey to the global stage. “We were honoured to showcase home-grown solutions like Ecoscrubber, as well as compete with the best in the world,” he said.
The student was accompanied by the Institutions Head, Innovations, Intellectual Property and community Engagement, Mr. Donatus Njoroge who provided guidance throughout the pitch sessions. “We are proud of their progress so far and we will continue to offer technical support, and global exposure on their path to commercialization,” Mr. Donatus noted.
