Digital notebooks, leaf composting, a weather centre and a system to combat the Asian hornet are the winners of the 1st edition
The final of the competition, promoted by ANI and Ciência Viva, took place on 22 April at the Pavilhão do Conhecimento in Lisbon to mark World Creativity and Innovation Day.
The 1st edition of the National School Innovation Competition saw the participation of 20 teams from nine districts in mainland Portugal, totalling almost 100 children and young people. Each team consisted of a teacher and up to five students. Over the last few months, the teams have had the support of mentors from Ciência Viva and ANI. The jury for the final included António Grilo, president of ANI, Rosalia Vargas, president of Ciência Viva, and Ana Luísa Santos, from the Directorate-General for Education.
The winner in the 1st Cycle of Basic Education was the “Digital Notebooks” project, a solution presented by a 4th grade class from the Amieira Basic School in Matosinhos to solve sustainability problems related to the use of paper notebooks, such as excessive water consumption and forest exploitation.
“How much is a leaf worth?” – it was with this question that the team that won the 2nd Cycle prize began their presentation. The project of the 6th graders at the Professor Marnoco e Sousa Primary School in Lousada involved building a large composter to process the leaves that fall in their school garden, producing a natural fertiliser whose sale goes towards buying materials for “special colleagues”. The project thus combines innovation with social solidarity.
In the 3rd Cycle, the winning project was “Meteorology for All” from the Freixo School in Ponte de Lima. Inspired by the microclimate in their region, this team installed a meteorological station in their school and sends daily reports to the region’s fire brigade and civil protection services, as well as to the Correio do Minho newspaper. It has partnerships with schools in Portugal, Galicia and São Tomé and Príncipe. The aim is to broaden the network and help detect risk situations and issue warnings about fires and other extreme phenomena.
Finally, it was the turn of Secondary and Vocational Education, with the “SOL – Save Our Lives” project from the Dr Júlio Martins School in Chaves. They presented solutions for combating the Asian hornet in Portugal and a website that warns of the areas where these animals have been spotted, as well as effective traps that are considerably more affordable than those available on the market. The traps are made with plastic bottles, allowing the reuse of around eight tonnes of plastic, or with devices in the form of electric harps that selectively electrocute Asian wasps at the entrance to the hives. Chaves City Council has expressed interest in the project.
Fernando Alexandre, Minister for Education, Science and Innovation, took part in the closing session and the award ceremony. The winning teams received a trophy, medals, technological toys, electronic equipment and family tickets to the Pavilion of Knowledge.
