Ground-Up Innovation

03/10/2026

The 'S' in our WISE framework stands for Sustainability and our products team have been hard at work to rethink the way we build things, so that we could all navigate overshoots better 🌳

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Das „S“ in unserem WISE-Framework steht für Nachhaltigkeit, und unser Produktteam hat intensiv daran gearbeitet, unsere Produktionsprozesse zu überdenken, damit wir alle besser mit Überschreitungen umgehen können 🌳

The signal is clear: we're heading towards a future warmer than the Paris Agreement goal of 1.5°C.

UNEP's latest report says the world must now face that reality.

The priority: keep the overshoot as brief and as low as possible, while working to bring temperatures back down afterwards.

What does this mean in practice? Here, we break down "overshoot" into five key things to understand:

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/overshoot-explained-5-things-understand-about-world-beyond-15degc

01/10/2026

The average American throws out around 81 pounds of clothing each year, and there is currently no process for recycling textiles like there is for bottles and cans. Now, MIT engineers hope to cut down on the growing mountain of textile waste, with a new, recyclable yarn.

The team has designed a yarn made from a form of plastic that is commonly used in milk bottles and grocery bags. The new yarn, which has a feel similar to traditional sewing thread, can be woven into stretchy, lightweight clothing. The researchers say that at the end of its use, a yarn-spun garment could be melted down and redrawn into new yarn, and then woven into new clothing or even cast into buttons, belt buckles, and other plastic accessories.

“Eighty percent of textiles on the U.S. market currently contain some amount of spandex, which makes them nonrecyclable,” says Svetlana Boriskina, a research scientist in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE). “There’s no widely adopted technology now that recycles textiles into textiles. With our new yarn, we hope to change that.”

https://meche.mit.edu/news-media/mit-engineers-design-recyclable-elastic-yarn

21/09/2026

Scientists successfully tested solar cells operating 33 feet deep in the ocean.

During a two-hour test in the South China Sea, the experimental modules collected 324 milliwatt-hours of energy. That was enough to charge lithium-ion batteries that could power LED lights.

The team, led by researchers at Yunnan University in China, designed the cells specifically for the light that survives underwater.

Seawater absorbs and scatters sunlight as it travels downward. Red wavelengths disappear relatively quickly, while blue-green light penetrates farther.

The researchers used a semiconductor called perovskite, tuning its properties to capture that remaining light. A polymer additive improved the material’s structure and reduced losses as electrical charges moved through the cells.

Under laboratory lighting designed to simulate conditions at 33 feet (10 meters), the cells converted nearly 35% of incoming light energy into electricity.

That efficiency describes how well they used the light available. The total energy collected still fell as the ocean tests moved deeper.

The potential application is powering small underwater devices, including sensors, cameras, and communications equipment. Generating electricity where those devices operate could reduce their dependence on battery replacements or cables from the surface.

Accelerated laboratory tests also suggested the cells could retain 80% of their initial performance for roughly 5.5 years under the modeled conditions. That is a projection, rather than five years of testing at sea.

Published in Joule, the experiment demonstrates a practical possibility: even below the waves, the sunlight that remains can provide useful power.

Read the study:
"Submerged solar harvesting with wide-band-gap perovskites for autonomous underwater energy systems." Joule

05/08/2026

🇸🇬 Come attend the next Hackware at Kent Ridge Park tomorrow on 6 Aug, 7.30pm at the Guildhâus ❤️

Hackware is a monthly meetup for developers and enthusiasts to share hacks and developments in the hardware, electronics, and IoT scene, promote engineering,…

26/07/2026

🇲🇾 If you're in Malaysia or heading there this coming weekend, join us at Mereka at 5pm for our next TECH TARIK on 'Futures of Wellness & Wellbeing'.

Secure your slot today: www.techtarik.com

Connect with fellow leaders in the 'Wellness and Wellbeing' sector over teh tarik, meaningful conversations and sumptuous dinner. Join us at our next TECH…

04/07/2026

Wishing all American impact inventors, young and old, in all diversity, a Happy 250th Independence Day 🇺🇸

02/07/2026

LIMITED. Enrol your teen today: https://hello.guild.asia

🎉 TEENPRENEURSHIP INVENTION CAMP by

What if your teen's "crazy ideas" are their greatest strength? We celebrate bold experimentation and learning through failure! Curated for a neurodiverse cohort (including neurodivergent teens with ADHD), we provide a space where "ridiculous" is the beginning of innovation.

🚀 Over 2 afternoons, teens will:
🎲 Negotiate in tabletop business games
🤖 Explore Gen AI for innovation & creativity
💡 Turn ideas into products via Design Thinking
🎤 Build confidence through demo pitching
🤝 Meet like-minded creative & neurodivergent peers

👨‍👩‍👧 Parents: Join a separate session on nurturing creativity & resilience at home.
🏆 Prize: One promising teen wins a fully sponsored SPARK entrepreneurship programme (worth up to $2,000).

📅 Event Details
📍 NUS Enterprise at Science Park (Kent Ridge MRT)
🗓 11–12 July 2026 (Sat & Sun)
🕑 2:00–5:00 PM
🎓 Secondary School & above

🔥 LIMITED TO 20 SLOTS!
👉 Enrol your teen today: https://hello.guild.asia

02/07/2026

Help amplify support for Ground-Up Initiative (GUI) through Ma Earth's unique quadratic funding model 🌻 https://tinyurl.com/MaEarthGUIcampaign

01/07/2026

Be RIDICULOUS 😄 Enrol your teen for this highly subsidised camp by Friday 👍 https://hello.guild.asia

Mission: Growing Grounded Innovators through Nature, Tech & Community. Vision: A more WISE™ world of Wellbeing, Inclusion, Sustainability and Entrepreneurship.

28/06/2026

This Sat, design boardgames with a game designer & experienced educator ❤️ https://gamers.guild.asia

Mission: Growing Grounded Innovators through Nature, Tech & Community. Vision: A more WISE™ world of Wellbeing, Inclusion, Sustainability and Entrepreneurship.