On 5 July, the final of the 3rd edition of the STEM Student Challenge organised by Goodyear Luxembourg will take place. This initiative is modelled on a competition that has existed for over 20 years in the United States to promote technical skills in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The competition is open to all high school students in the country, from 7th to 2nd grade (i.e. the year before high school graduation), in teams of up to 4 students.
At the beginning of the year, the teams were invited to rise to the challenge of building a “Non-sense Machine”, whose different parts must interact virtually thanks to the “Kniwwelino” units provided by LIST and Digital Luxembourg.
Four finalist teams
“In order to respect the health context, each student being part of a team had to individually design a part of the machine, which remotely triggers the process of the next part designed by another team member,” explains Laurent Poorters, engineer at Goodyear and coordinator of the project.
The ultimate goal of these machines will be to virtually broadcast a meaningful message on a large Kniwwelino LED wall, installed at the LIST premises in Esch/Belval.
Of the eight teams registered at the beginning of the year, four were selected for the final, representing the Lycée International Michel Lucius of Luxembourg, the Lycée Edward Steichen of Clervaux, the Athénée of Luxembourg and the Lycée de Garçons Luxembourg.
“Innovation creates value for all”
“The point of such an initiative is to show young people how attractive scientific and engineering studies can be,” notes Mr Poorters.
The final will take place on 5 July, partly at Goodyear’s premises, where the members of the jury will be present. The jury includes experts from FEDIL, LIST, the National Research Fund, Ingénieurs & Scientifiques du Luxembourg (formerly DaVinci), the University of Luxembourg, Digital Luxembourg, ANEIL, the Luxembourg Science Center, Succy, Goodyear and Luxinnovation.
“Making the young generation aware of the scientific and technical professions means building a future where innovation creates value for all,” adds Johnny Brebels, Director of Company Relations and Support at Luxinnovation and member of the jury for the 3rd edition of the STEM Student Challenge. “This is an excellent opportunity to highlight how exciting the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics can be. Encouraging young people to choose the right career today will generate the innovators of tomorrow.”
In addition to the jury’s vote, the four projects will also be submitted to the general public for comments. Brief videos presenting each of the projects have been published since this Friday on the Facebook and Instagram pages of Science.lu. The National Research Fund will also award a special prize to the project that receives the most votes from the general public.