BY DAYO ADESULU
This year’s British International Education Association (BIEA) STEM competition has come to an end, and Greensprings School has been announced as the winner, after scaling through 43 schools from 16 countries at the finals. The school’s STEM team won the competition by designing a sustainable food packaging material meant to replace plastic packaging materials, which are not biodegradable.
Mr Lanre Oguntoye, one of the school’s STEM coaches, shared the details of the students’ project in the competition. He said, “Based on the theme of BIEA 2021 International Youth STEM Innovation Competition, which is ‘Repack to Restore Our World,’ our STEM team proposed the use of modern technology to devise new and sustainable ways of packaging food to reduce the amount of plastic waste produced. The team was made up of Ayomide Hector-Olukoya, Mayomikun Soneye, Anjola Obasunloye, Damilola Adeosun and Seni Honponu-wusu.”
“Their solution was centred around the use of coconut shells as a sustainable approach to repackaging food. The students gave impressive presentations to the BIEA STEM judges and provided insightful answers to their technical questions. At the end of the finals, they were adjudged the winner of the competition,” he concluded.
Mrs Magdalene Okrikri, the secondary school principal at the school’s Anthony campus, gave her remarks about the award, stating that the award is another attestation that the school is raising global problem solvers. “I am highly impressed that our students won this award. It was amazing how they engaged with the theme and employed their STEM skills to achieve the intended objectives. The idea was quite innovative, and our students communicated their idea very well. They also answered all the questions from the judges with clarity and precision. This performance further strengthens the rationale for putting thinking skills at the heart of our curriculum, as it’s really helping the students to become global problem solvers, ” she said.
The BIEA International Youth STEM Innovation Competition aims to bring together educators and young people from around the world, who share a passion for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). As the winner of the competition, all members of the Greensprings STEM team have now been accepted into BIEA STEM Stars, an accreditation programme providing an opportunity for students to show schools, universities and future employers their passion for STEM subjects.
