Youth Innovation Partnership 2015
In April this year, Lucy Devall the Executive Director of Bright Green Enterprise, undertook another successful trip to Tanzania in East Africa as part of our Youth Innovation Partnership.
The main aim of this trip was to support the School of St Jude Science and Innovation Fair held on the 24th April. This fair, now in its fifth year, challenges students to produce an innovative display of STEM education (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), with a design or function that has a positive impact on the social and environmental surrounds of Tanzania.
There are close to 2,000 students at the School of St Jude, across primary and secondary levels of education, reaching until Year 13 (or Form 6 in Tanzania). Students were invited across different learner levels to showcase appropriate displays in-line with their knowledge of STEM taught under the leadership of Mr. Mcharo, Head of Science. The School of St Jude was established to serve the most vulnerable of young children within the Arumeru communities who would otherwise more than likely, be without a completed education (the average exit level of education in Tanzania is 14 years old, due to the cost of schooling and work commitments).
The Science and Innovation Fair awards prizes to students based on their level of suitability to a set criteria which they are briefed on months in advance of the event, this includes: design, level of technology, duration and record of the project development, innovation, appropriateness to local social and environmental considerations.
The first place winner from the day was awarded to Vincenzo who created the “Smart House”, an ICT project designed to working prototype model that can undertake a number of functions within the house via remote controlled access. The house itself is designed with integrated solar technology to help power the electrics and functions.
Other innovative projects on display included agricultural irrigation techniques for small holder farmers using plastic water bottles, bicycle powered technology for maize shelling, radios created from recycled “rubbish”, local natural herbal remedies, solar cookers and much more! Students participating in AISE CCB workshops were also able to showcase their projects at the Fair which they’d made at the AISE workshops in Arusha.
Take a look below at some of the products we saw. More details on the event will follow. A very special thank you to our supporting UK partner EIP as well as our fantastic individual donors from the UK and USA!
Comments are closed