Winning STEM challenge project is far from rubbish

May 3, 2016

stem1A young eco warrior may be following in her entrepreneurial sister’s footsteps after winning a science competition at school.

Kia, a pupil at Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls, was awarded first prize in the annual STEM Challenge sponsored by engineering giant, Renishaw plc.

stem21The 14-year-old’s winning Rehoming Rubbish project delivered a number of proposals to reduce unnecessary collections as well as a system which notifies the local authority when the bins are full.

Kia’s little sister Sky, 12, won the challenge in 2014 with her revolutionary Crikey Bikey harness to help parents teach their children how to ride a bicycle safely.

Since then, she has worked with her finance director, Kia, to build the business, appearing on BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den and winning invaluable mentorship from panellist Touker Suleyman.

The pair also became UK Junior Engineers of the Year at the Big Bang science fair in 2015 with Crikey Bikey.

Anne Kavanagh, Head of Physics at HMSG, said: “Kia’s project investigated the enormous quantity of rubbish we produce in our homes and leave out for the refuse collectors to take away and dispose of.

“She looked at environmental impacts and wrote up her research and findings in a professional style report.  She visited her local household recycling centre, where she was shown around and conducted an interview with the boss.

“Kia was delighted to be presented with her prize of an iPhone 6 in Friday’s school assembly by Mrs Julie Collins, Education Liaison Manager for Renishaw.”

Mrs Collins told the girls: “Through this challenge, we wanted to encourage as many pupils as possible to think about STEM as something really interesting and exciting.

“We hope that one day, a pupil from this school will be standing here and giving out the prizes as an engineer from Renishaw.

“We had a fantastic day judging this year’s entries – it was very enjoyable and very challenging.

“There was an amazing variety, the standard was high and it was really difficult to make a decision.”

A five star luxury pillow and a juicy project concerning blackcurrants were among the imaginative projects to win runner up prizes.

Click here for more information on Renishaw  An interview with the STEM Challenge 2016 winners