Oakridge students take part in MIT STEAM festival in Warsaw

Students from Oakridge International School recently attended the exciting and unique MIT STEAM Festival in Warsaw.

The British School Warsaw (TBS) hosted the first Europe and Middle East regional Nord Anglia MIT STEAM Festival in collaboration with MIT from 10th to 14 June, 2019.

The theme of the event was 'Pioneers of Tomorrow'. The festival exposed Nord Anglia Education (NAE) students to the MIT way of thinking, doing and being, with a vision to prepare the Pioneers of Tomorrow and to invent the future. The festival hosted over 200 students from 12 schools from around the Middle East and Europe.

Over the course of 5 days, students were exposed to a range of STEAM technologies - those in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics - and creative approaches to problem-solving. Students were introduced to drones, their functions and also taught how to code one. They were also given a glimpse into the world of autonomous vehicles and coding. The 5 day program had a host of interesting workshops, one such being creating a wearable tech device. They also learnt the basic components of 3-D printing, which they used to develop their wearable tech concept prototype for the final project.

After the series of workshops, students were then put into teams to work on a project challenge, wherein they had to help save a disease hit town using all the learnings they have gathered so far. Teams developed drones and spheros that could do surveillance of the town and avoid all obstacles. They also engineered a bridge to help the drone to safely reach the location. Students also worked on creating a wearable device that could help the residents of the town prevent the disease or fight it.

"It was an amazing experience to work in teams from all over the world and present wearable technology, transport, marketing and engineering ideas to solve the disease breakout of Cholera in a location", said Oakridgers Sehajpreet Singh and Gurmehak Singh, who were thrilled and excited from their recent experience at Warsaw.

"We had many workshops including engineering (bridge building), marketing, programming, wearable technology, working with drones, curiosity cube, 3D printing, and so much more. My personal favourites were Curiosity Cube and Spheros (programming). Curiosity Cube is a workshop where we get boxes filled with batteries, motors, LED lights, a balloon, earplugs, and all sorts of other things. Once we get the box, we do whatever we want to build circuits or anything. All we need to do is see where our curiosity can take us. Spheros are sphere-shaped robots which can be programmed," said Isha Matta one of the participants at the event.

"This festival was an excellent opportunity for many of our students to share their passion for Science and Technology alongside students from our sister schools across Europe and the Middle East. We are very lucky to be provided with support and direction from MIT, the pre-eminent science and technology University, and are fortunate and indebted to be supported by so many local and regional partners in the technology field", said Alun Yorath, Principal at The British School Warsaw.

"I am delighted that we now have STEAM festivals to support our ongoing collaboration with MIT in all our Nord Anglia Education regions. As we prepare our students for the changing world ahead of them, there is no doubt that the need to create links between all aspects of their studies, to learn in an interdisciplinary fashion and to identify problems and issues as well as find solutions, will be essential for the future. This collaboration and these festivals are right at the heart of our mission to help them develop these skills", said Andy Puttock, Group Education Director, Nord Anglia Education.

Nord Anglia Education has collaborated with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to prepare students for adult life in our rapidly-evolving world, equipping them with the skills and techniques to thrive. Through hands-on, interdisciplinary learning of STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering, art and maths), children will develop the transferrable skills needed to invent the future they will ultimately inherit. Students will learn from MIT researchers, scientists and experts at the forefront of these fields, as well as taking a hands-on approach to problem solving.

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