SLL Young Lighter

The Society of Light and Lighting is delighted to announce the finalists for the SLL Young Lighter 2021

Register for the SLL Young Lighter 2021 Finals today

Online from 17:00 GMT | 16 December 2021

Following the initial entry stage, the expert judges confirmed a shortlist of Young Lighter entrants to go through to the next stage of the competition. The shortlisted entrants were then asked to develop their entry and submit a short piece to camera, outlining their project.



Following stage two of the competition, the judges have confirmed the following four finalists for the SLL Young Lighter 2021:

SLL Young Lighter 2021 finalists:

• Maria Englezou - Do we need to change the design of healthcare facilities rooms?
• María Teresa Aguilar Carrasco - Lighting optimisation in 24 hours work centres to promote a good circadian rhythm
• Remedios María López Lovillo - Adaptive lighting control system - User-oriented
• Verity Rose - Drone Lighting: The impact and the future

The SLL Young Lighter 2021 finals will be held online from 17:00 GMT on 16 December 2021.

Find out more and register for the finals

Each year, the competition is open to ANYONE with an interest in light and lighting. The winner will receive the title, SLL Young Lighter 2021 and a cash prize of £1000.



Entries can be based on ANY light related topic!

Entry Stage One:

• 6 introductory Powerpoint slides outlining entry
• These could include images, illustrations, graphics, animations, text, voice etc.

Stage Two:

• If your Stage One entry is shortlisted we will ask you to elaborate with a 3-5 minute piece to camera and to expand on your initial ideas. This can be in whichever format your feel illustrates your entry best. We’ve listed some suggested formats below:
• Expand on your initial slides (with a maximum of 25 slides in total)
• Write a written paper (not exceeding 3000 words)
• We would be open to discussing alternative formats, should your entry be shortlisted.

Stage 3:

• Finalists will be selected and invited to deliver a 15 minute presentation in front of an audience.
• Following the presentations, a winner will be selected, receiving a cash prize of £1000 and the title SLL Young Lighter 2021.
• Over the year’s we have seen some incredible projects and notable winners, making this competition an invaluable platform to explore and discuss ideas relating to light, particularly for those at the early stages of their career.
• By entering, you have an opportunity to join previous winners including Seda Kacel, Christopher Knowlton, Sabine De Schutter, Rachael Nicholls, Janna Aronson, Youmna Abdallah, Sofia Tolia, Matt Hanbury, Emma Beadle, Anna Wawrzyniak and Aluwaine Manyonga with the prestigious title of Young Lighter of the Year.

Aluwaine Manyonga was named SLL Young Lighter 2020 at the Lux Awards on 12 November 2020. 

Aluwaine Manyonga named SLL Young Lighter 2020 at the Lux Awards online

Aluwaine Manyonga delivered his concept, Offgrid Solar Lighting and Chigubhu Lantern, Africa's Education System Game Changer, during the LuxLive Digital Festival 2020. For the first time ever, the SLL Young Lighter final was held online, with all four finalists delivering their presentations virtually to an international audience.

Within his concept, Aluwaine sought to provide a viable off-grid solar lighting solution for education in Africa. 600 million people are without electricity in Africa, with 1 in 3 primary schools affected. Chigubhu is a Shona word for plastic container/water bottle and the idea behind this concept is based on plastic and electronic waste recycling. Whilst seeking to introduce solar lighting systems for school buildings, Aluwaine’s project also proposes a means of re-using plastic and electronic waste, providing students and communities with transportable, safe light sources.

Watch Aluwaine's full presentations for the SLL Young Light 2020 finals via the Lux Review.

Find out more about the 2020 finalists and watch their introductory videos, outlining their entries below:

Aleix Llenas, Spectrally Tunable Lighting for the Real World: A UK Case-study in Tracking Human Behaviour and Implications for Future Technology

The Young Lighter of the Year competition provides a high profile opportunity to help younger lighting professionals in the early stages of their career.

If you have any questions about the competition, please contact sll@cibse.org.

Take a look at some of the previous finalists' video presentations via the links below:

• ​A Light Booster Metro Car for the Commuting Work Force: Human Centric Lighting in Underground Transportation by Anna Wawrzyniak
• Children's Utopian Visions of the City: co-designing lighting masterplans through play and exploration by Emma Beadle
• Ultra-thin Surface Light Sources: Picking up where OLED Stalled by Matt Hanbury

• A New Manual Blind Use Pattern for Annual Energy and Daylight Simulations by Amir Nezamdoost

• A Visible Light Communication Scheme for use as Accent Lighting by Aisha Robinson

• Applicability of Climate-based Daylight Modelling by Eleonora Brembilla

• A Journey Towards Change by James Duff

• Variable Lighting Levels for Highways: A Different Approach by Sofia Tolia

SLL Young Lighters - Left: Matt Hanbury (2017), Sofia Tolia (2016), Youmna Abdallah (2015)
Right: Janna Aronson (2014), Rachael Nicholls (2013), Sabine de Schutter (2012)

For more information, please contact sll@cibse.org