Community Updates: May 2023
Our global community of youth here at Youth STEM 2030 are tackling the world’s biggest challenges through science, technology, engineering and maths, creating a real impact across all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Here’s how some of them have been changing the world lately…
Youth STEM 2030 Community Wins Big at Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair 2023
The 2023 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) - the world’s biggest global high school science fair - took place this month in Dallas, Texas, and several members of our Youth STEM 2030 community were there representing their national and state science fairs! They were amongst over 1,600+ competitors, and several of them were recognised amongst the winners of the Grand Awards and Special Awards, which combined made an $8 million prize pool of awards and scholarships.
Huge congratulations to the award winners and finalists from our community:
Ruvarashe Moyo (Youth STEM Matters Team Alumni) who won the Ricoh Sustainable Development Award of $10,000 for her project “A High-Performance Polyaniline Brick Supercapacitor: A Novel Approach to the Electrical Energy Crisis”.
Jordan Prawira (2021 Youth STEM Summit Speaker & Research Showcase Participant) who won 3rd place in in Energy: Sustainable Materials & Design and 2 special awards - Arizona State University ISEF Scholarship (valued at up to $52,000) and The Chief of Naval Research Scholarship Award of $15,000 - for his project “Pura Aer 2: Dual-Stage, Energy-Efficient, Modular Air Purifier System, Inspired by Porifera To Improve Air Quality”.
Tatenda Mazambani (Youth STEM Matters Team Alumni) who represented Zimbabwe, with her project “The Great Azolla Event II: Harnessing Electrical Energy From Oxidative Phosphorylation During Respiration in Aquatic Flora, Azolla filiculoides”.
You can also see all the finalists’ projects in the Regeneron ISEF virtual science fair, and meet all of the winners in the Grand and Special Awards Announcements:
Luis Named Rise Finalist
We’re thrilled that Luis Fernando Ortega Hanco, a member of the Youth STEM Matters Team, has been selected from thousands of applicants as one of 500 finalists for Rise!
Rise is programme that finds the world’s most promising young people who are solving humanity’s most pressing problems, and is an initiative of Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust.
To be selected as a finalist is a huge achievement, and all 500 finalists will now take part in Finalist Days, which include presentations, interviews, and group activities, to select the 100 Rise Global Winners who will benefit from a lifetime of support.
Congratulations Luis, and the best of luck for the finalist day!
Jeremiah and Angela Finalists in Green Awards
Jeremiah Thoronka, who was featured in the Youth STEM Matters Print Edition, and Angela Busheska, speaker at our 2021 Youth STEM Summit and STEM for Climate Action Research Conference, have both been named as finalists for the 2023 Green Awards at GREENTECH FESTIVAL!
Named as finalists in the Youngster category alongside Sharona Shnayder, Jeremiah and Angela are being recognised for their incredible work to protect our planet. Jeremiah’s startup Optim Energy has provided electricity to 150 households and 15 schools in his home country of Sierra Leone, and Angela’s app EnRoute has helped people in over 55 countries to reduce their carbon emissions through their daily commuting activities and making environmentally conscious shopping decisions.
Congratulations Jeremiah and Angela!
Genius Education Zambia Awarded $20k by World Bank
Bupe Chikumbi, who was a speaker at both the 2020 and 2021 Youth STEM Summit, has recently celebrated a big win for the team at Genius Education Zambia, having been awarded $20,000 by The World Bank under the Youth Innovation Fund for their groundbreaking project 4th Industrial Revolution (Project 4IR).
Genius Education Zambia is a STEM organisation whose mission is to promote, facilitate and enhance quality education in Zambia. This award from World Bank will allow them to continue working to bridge the gaps among high school students, young professionals, the workforce and the constantly evolving global environment.
Well done Bupe - we can’t wait to see the impact you and the team at Genius Education Zambia continue to create!
Danielle Featured in MIT Solve Documentary
Danielle Boyer, who we welcomed as a speaker to the 2021 Youth STEM Summit, is doing incredible work to connect other Indigenous youth to tech through free robotics kits, and we were thrilled to hear that her work has been highlighted in a new documentary by MIT Solve, The Big Idea.
Danielle’s episode, which is titled Every Kid Gets a Robot, is one of 3 featured, and shares her story and follows her journey to change the world, one robotics kit for Indigenous youth at a time. Other featured solutions include a solution to keep vaccine temperatures stable in remote places and antiracist technology aimed at reducing the Black maternal mortality rates.
Congratulations Danielle - we can’t wait to watch the full documentary!
Macdonald Launches Crowdfunder for Innovative Solar Cooking Technology
2021 Youth STEM Summit Speaker Macdonald Chirara is bringing cutting-edge solar electric cooking technology to Sub-Saharan Africa at Everlasting Technology, with the support of Colgate Entrepreneurship and Innovation programme.
Macdonald and his team are on a mission to empower individuals and tackle climate change with sustainable solutions, and his passion for the issue stems from growing up in Zimbabwe, where he witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by many in accessing clean and reliable cooking methods.
Macdonald and his team are now crowdfunding to launch a pilot project, so please support if you can, or share with someone you think might be able to!
Have a project, achievement or update that you want to feature in future Youth STEM 2030 Community Updates? Email the details to Mhairi McCann: mhairi@youthstem2030.org
