STEMPOWERING YOUTH: Student Projects of the fourth cycle

“STEMPOWERING YOUTH” for a fourth straight cycle: Meet our new crop of young scientists!

“STEMpowering Youth” is an extracuricullar STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program which has been implemented by Scico in cooperation with Ellinogermaniki Agogi and the support of Vodafone Foundation since 2017. The program’s aim is to bring innovation in school classes of remote Greek areas: In each cycle of the program, 13-16 year-old students are trained with interactive educational tools on topics of Natural Sciences, Astronomy and Programming, and participate in experiments as well as design and construction of science projects.

At the end of each course round, each team is tasked with creating their own project, in which they have to research, design, and manufacture a construction aimed at resolving a real-life issue of their local community. This gives them the opportunity to become engaged citizens of their local community and recognize the needs of their fellow citizens, and at the same time to learn and employ the steps scientists and researchers take in order to implement an idea: from identifying the problem to finding and implementing a solution by applying principles of science and innovation.

The students participating in this cycle were trained in exponential technologies and created 49 unique projects! As budding scientist/engineers they combined creative thinking with their newfound  skills in programming, engineering and the internet of things. Many used the App Inventor platform to bring their ideas to life or used the arduino micro-controller platform to assemble the sensors of their constructions! Details about each individual project are available in our educational community in the “Open Schools for Open Societies” portal. You can also see the videos our students made to present their projects in our youtube playlist. Let’s meet our new crop of young scientists, inventors and innovators!

STEMstudents from Argostoli care for the protection of people with disabilities as well as the protection of their city's history. Whoever dares to park in a parking spot reserved for with disabillities, they might have to face Νο parking here! And whoever tries to touch unprotected museum exhibits in the city will have to think again, with Don't touch.

Road safety, fire safety and cleanliness is what the young inventors from Vamos, Chania, want for their city. The visually-impaired and blind will be able to have a stroll without fear, with  Smart Blind Stick to warn them about obstacles. The only thing they won't have to face will be trash, which is dealt with by AUTO Trash Bin. The Traffic Organizer  deals with a serious traffic issue that challenges school buses in their area- its young inventors posed their concerns to the local municipal authorities. Their colleagues dream of a city free of the fear of wild-fires, thanks to Fire Alarm.

Students from Vrysses, Chania introduce us to their smart city and present their model Smart City Model- Street lights with priority for ambulances which might help bring patients faster to the care they desperately need.  A smart city should also turn to renewable energy sources: A solution to this problem could be the project Use and Smart Control of Solar Energy with motion sensors that students and professors have installed and use successfully at the Vrysses secondary school. We hope other schools will emulate their example!

No more smoking at the 2nd High School of Kalymnos! Whoever wants to smoke will have to deal with the Smoke Detector System. There also won't be worries about the elderly and people in need of assistance, who will be able to easily ask for help with the Emergency warning system for the elderly.

Whoever visits Karlovasi in Samos might one day be surprised seeing a vehicle that parks by itself controlled by a smartphone, with the system for  Smart motor control system modeled by our young inventors. Visually-impaired citizens might one day be able to walk safely thanks to the motion-detecting Radar. "Hands off" promise their colleagues: The Smart Trash Can opens automatically when you want to throw something away, and lights turn on by themselves with this Smart Home Device.

Environmentally conscious STEMstudents from Kerkyra propose solutions in their Smart Home and try to protect their forests with  Forest fire detection and warning system . Tough-times for lock-pickers in Kerkyra, since school classes will now be protected by RFID και Keypad locks. 

The young engineers from Komotini will want to make finding a parking space simple with their  Parking - ultra komotini application. At the same time, recycling is a deeply ingrained practice in their environmentally conscious school community: A group of students want to recycle used electronic transport tickets by using them as keys for their  Green Lock Ultra Komotini, while their colleagues have built a device that separates recyclable by category, the Recyclable material separator Ultra-Komotini. Workers in spaces with flammable materials won't have to worry about explosions or injury caused by gas-leakage, thanks to the ingenious  Air Alert - Ultra Komotini which will warn them to evacuate in time.

Another proposal for Municipal Parking Management  came from Kos.

Cats in Lixouri will be able to play for hours with the Cat Laser. Click here if you want to have fun with them (with a twist)! Technology serves art, a staple of local everyday life. Two young inventor have brought innovation to the oldest Philharmonic School in Greece, the Lixouri Philharmonic, which will now have easily tuned instruments thanks to the amazing  ArTUNEino: The musical ear . The maestro approves!

STEMstudents in Mytilini have a vision for the future, presenting us their  ArduLesvos smart city model, while their colleagues promise endless hours of creative fun with their Gyroscope game-Mytilini. The smart greenhouse promises to help make plant-cultivation less demanding and more sustainable.

Accessibility was an important issue for the students in Orestiada, prompting them to build a model elevator for students with mobility aids and wheelchair lift, particularly inspired by a colleague who couldn't access the classroom with their wheelchair. Heavy lifting does not phase STEMstudents in Orestiada, because the have built a hydraulic jack and a hydraulic robot hand.

Patmos is a sunny island, and too much sun exposure can lead to skin disease. The app  ΕΠΙΔΕΡΜΙΔRash, builds a concept for giving users immediate access to medical advice for their rashes or lesions remotely by connected experts who are not available on the island.The smart pig who informs you when a flower needs water, makes sure to warn you with its characteristic voice when our plants are thirsty. In the Genneion Secondary School of Patmos students can start their day with a nutritious juice before it loses its vitamins, thanks to the  Detox 1 2 3 drink your juice fast. They can also leave home behind knowing everything about its energy imprint with the Smart home: Save Energy device, and the might some day walk on the way back from school safely, if the  smart school traffic signs become reality on the winding, low visibility road that connects the school with neighbouring villages.

An electronic announcement board can bring students in Rethimno up to speed on changes to their daily class schedule. Pedestrians of the "smart city" can walk safely thanks to the pedestrian crossing Rethimno. Visitors to the city can already admire the sights of the old town of Rethimnon by downloading the appScanning Rethimno. The app has a bright future: Our young programmers want to collaborate with the municipality to print out their QR codes and use their app for a treasure hunt! And if you get lost, no problem! Their colleagues created the app   #WhereAmI Rethimno, which, however, is meant for an important purpose: helping people suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia stay in touch with their loved ones by providing their GPS location.

The STEMstudents of the secondary school of Kallithies in Rhodes are especially concerned about traffic safety and patient transport: No drunk driver will be able to get their vehicle to start if the automated alcohol test for cars has its way, while the two-wheel afficionados will have to always wear their helmets thanks to the automated system for locking bikes when the helmet is not used. When smoke is present in the house smoke or gas-leak alarm will warn you to evacuate on time. Here as in Rethimno, if someone needs to be transported to hospital the  ambulance priority traffic light system will help. The only thing certain is that four-legged friends in Rhodes will never need to go hungry, with the remotely controlled automated dog feeder which will make sure they are regularly provided for.

An easy to use Evros Tourist Guide mobile app showcases the sights of Ticheros, Evros, where our last (but definitely not least) teams of STEMstudents come from. Who doesn't know about beauty of the forest of Dadia? A new app makes sure you find out! Elderly people living alone are lucky, because our young inventors created the  Emergency Button App  which makes it easy to contact loved ones or the authorities in case of emergency. And if you've left the light on when you leave the house, the students from Tichero have you covered! Their app Lights, please!, can give you remote control of the house lighting.

We congratulate all of our STEMstudents and STEMprofessors of the 4th cycle for their amazing efforts and wonderful projects that combined knowledge with active contribution to the needs of the local communities! Above all we thank them for their energy, positive attitude and love for learning that made another cycle of the program an absolute success! Your passion for science and technology inspires us to keep going!