STEM schools win $130,000 in Samsung technology
Solve for Tomorrow contest encourages teens to improve their communities with STEM.
In search of pioneering ideas to improve communities across the United States, Samsung turned to the next generation for its annual Solve for Tomorrow competition. The contest asks public school students from grades 6 through 12 to develop original solutions to challenges faced by their communities using science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Each of the three winning schools received $130,000 in Samsung technology and resources to support expansion of STEM learning.
This year’s students responded in big ways and with bold concepts. They addressed some of the most pressing issues our country faces, including senior isolation, civil rights protections and sustainability. Each team developed fresh, tech-based approaches that often utilized inventive apps and the latest mobile accessories. Their work was even more impressive considering it was all done during a year of virtual and hybrid learning.
This creativity exemplifies the spirit of Solve for Tomorrow. Now in its 11th year, the competition has directed $18 million in Samsung technology and classroom materials to more than 2,000 schools.
Watch the Solve for Tomorrow winners reveal
"Tackling social justice, the pandemic and the health of our planet, these are the problem-solvers and changemakers who build hope for our future."
Ann Woo, Senior Director of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics America.
For the 2021 contest, top honors went to three schools that showed their undeniable spirit of innovation. Solve for Tomorrow’s newest National Winners are Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy of Erie, Pennsylvania, Hope for Detroit Academy in Michigan, and Porter High School in Porter, Texas.
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year’s winners
Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy
The challenge: Protect civil rights by allowing advocates to document unfolding events
The solve: The voice activated app, We've Got Your Back, and carrying case
After witnessing recent local and national events where people were challenged for advocating for social justice, the students of Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy built an app to address common fears that one’s rights will be violated. These include encounters with law enforcement during protests, rallies or traffic stops. The team’s We’ve Got Your Back mobile app is a voice-activated tool that turns a phone into a body camera or dashcam to record events and interactions. Recordings are saved every four minutes and move to continuous recording mode when given a voice command such as, “Trouble is starting” or “I’m being pulled over.”
To solve the issue of constantly holding the phone, the students also designed the We’ve Got Your Back carrying case, an inexpensive, hands-free harness, using the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and 3D printing skills they learned in STEM classes. “The resources are out there,” says team member Eric. “You can learn how to do almost anything and make a difference in the world.”
In addition to being named a National Winner, Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy was also picked as the Samsung Employee Choice Award Winner, earning an additional $15,000.
Hope of Detroit Academy
The challenge: Help community groups locate clean-up sites
The solve: The site-tracking app Green Warrior
The students of Hope of Detroit contend with excessive amounts of garbage, used tires left in open spaces and unsecured abandoned homes in their community. In response, they created the Green Warrior app to track and report these sites to local community organizations that lead clean-up efforts. Partners include Green Tree Plastics, which collects plastic products from abandoned sites and converts them into park benches.
“Our app is designed to help the issues of blight in our community, to make a safer community and better future for the students of tomorrow,” says Yaritza, a member of the Hope for Detroit team.
Porter High School
The challenge: Battle isolation-induced depression in seniors
The solve: The app and website Gen-Bridge
As many as one in four elderly individuals reported having anxiety or depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Center for Disease Control, loneliness and isolation can lead to increased rates of dementia, heart disease and stroke. To combat these isolation-induced illnesses, students at Porter High School created the app and website Gen-Bridge. Now, seniors in assisted living facilities can connect one-on-one with students through chat, events and games like chess.
The team tapped into available STEM technology to build Gen-Bridge, including coding and blog-authoring tools, to engineer and code the app and site from scratch. Along the way, they customized their solution to audience based on learning from local elders. Seniors are often on their tablets, so the team made sure to use big fonts, bright colors and help them participate in videoconferencing to connect to others.
“It’s not just the elders who they’re helping,” says Porter teacher Autumn Dowdy. “It’s making me feel better and them feel better and our school feel so proud.”
The Future of Education
Samsung designed Solve for Tomorrow to address the growing education gap and career readiness shortage in STEM skills in the U.S. As the U.S. Department of Education notes, “If we want a nation where our future leaders, neighbors and workers can understand and solve the complex challenges of today and tomorrow, and to meet the demands of the dynamic and evolving workforce, building students' skills, content knowledge and literacy in STEM fields is essential.”
All of this year’s Solve for Tomorrow contestants showed that these talents can still be fostered in U.S. schools. “It’s really tapped into the ingenuity and creativity of teachers and students all across the country,” says Samsung SVP Lee Williams.
Even during such a difficult and disruptive year, so many schools answered the call of Solve for Tomorrow, and teachers are truly the driving force behind all of these projects. They can find additional support and tools for a changing education landscape, and learn how to enter in next year’s competition, at Solve for Tomorrow. Visit https://www.samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/ to learn more.
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