Junior Achievement Cyprus and ExxonMobil Cyprus are very pleased to announce the implementation of the Sci-Tech Challenge program for the third consecutive year.
The program is a collaboration between JA Europe and ExxonMobil which counts 12 years with the participation of more than 60,000 students from all over Europe.
Science and technology play a critical role in advancing our understanding of the world and creating new technologies that improve the quality of our lives. Without scientific research and technological innovation, we would not have many of the benefits we enjoy today, such as modern medicine, advanced communication tools, and efficient transportation systems. By studying science and technology, we can develop the knowledge and skills needed to create innovative solutions to complex problems.
The aims of the program are to inspire students to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses at higher education level and to enable them to understand the wide variety of careers that can be pursued through STEM education while leveraging and their talents. It is a fact that the number of students studying these subjects is decreasing both internationally and in Cyprus, while the projected number of jobs in the field is increasing.
The program was implemented this year in 14 schools bringing the 411 students face to face with the real challenges facing the world and our environment. ExxonMobil's volunteer mentors played a key role in the program, as through classroom visits they acted as role models for a career in the STEM field while introducing students to the main energy challenges.
Next, 14 student groups from the schools that took part in the program with a total of 70 students participated in the National Sci-Tech CompetitionChallenge held on April 6, 2023 between the hours of 09:00 – 18:00 at the POED buildings.
The team was declared the winnerfrom the Lyceum of Agios Georgios Lakatamias, which will represent Cyprus in the Pan-European Competition of the Sci-Tech Challenge organized by ExxonMobil Europe and Junior Achievement Europe, and will take place on 9 – 10 May 2023 in Brussels. Sofoklis Vassiliou, Nikolas Pantelis, Irini Stylianou, Nefeli Vassiliou and Panagiotis Pilakoutas with responsible professors Ms. Anna Maria Pavlou and Ms. Maria Filippou, like their classmates in the other four European countries, were invited to develop a plan for the future and sustainable school environment with the introduction of technology, the reduction of energy consumption, but also the review of services or products. The team presented an affordable and sustainable plan that focuses on: Building Renovation, Waste Management, Transportation and Education.
Second Placeoccupied by the Silverline Private School team with Marin Markov, Mark Gavrilov, Ghazal Zowayed, Alexander Markou, and Georgiana Spyrou and responsible teachers Mr. Augustino Augusti and Ms. Andria Christoforou will have the opportunity to see the work of ExxonMobil Cyprus in a day. The team's design focused on using piezoelectric kinetic energy tiles as a renewable source and wavy designs in the school's architecture to improve air cooling.
Third placewith equally good ideas, the children from the Lefkara Regional High School and High School won. The group consisted of: Panagiota Dimitriou, Christos Hectoros, Konstantinos Kallis, Kleanthi Ptochou and Panagiotis Prodromou and responsible teachers: Zelina Filippou and Panagioti Pouloupati. The team proposed a central unit that monitors the energy consumption of every public school in Cyprus and helps reduce the carbon footprint. The third place prize was an educational STEM game for each participant on the winning team.
We would like to express our warm thanks to the mentors from the company ExxonMobil Ms. Louisa Papageorgiou, Ms. Christina Tomazou, Mr. Fritz Mertz, Ms. Maria Kolokasi, Mr. Michali Michael, Mr. Prodromos Demosthenous, and Mr. Savva Peggero who helped the teams effectively. The jury consisting of Mr. Varnavas Theodosiou from ExxonMobil Cyprus, Ms. Marianna Harambous from the Blue Economy Innovation Center, Mr. Nikos Isaris from the European Commission in Cyprus and Mr. Andreas Papadopoulos from the JA Board of Directors of Cyprus, who had the difficult task of selecting the winners and of course the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth for their support.
For more information you can visit www.jacyprus.org/sci-tech or contact [email protected].
