National STEM Challenge 2024 Concludes With A Spectacular Finale In Bengaluru

* More than 2,000 Students from 20 States Push the Boundaries of Innovation and Creativity in India’s Premier, Year-Long STEM Initiative

The winners of the 2024 National STEM Challenge, a one-of-its-kind educational initiative in India, were announced today in Bengaluru at the grand finale of a national competition that showcased the incredible talent and innovation of young minds from across the country. This marked the fourth edition of the competition, organised by STEM Learning in association with Brillio, a social enterprise focused on driving STEM education among school children.

The National STEM Challenge provides a unique STEM learning platform for skill development in underserved students of government and government-aided schools across India. It is designed to foster and celebrate creativity, ingenuity, design thinking, and problem-solving skills among students from grades 6 through 10, regardless of their background.

The finale marked the culmination of year-long STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) activities, including science and mathematics model competitions, technology quizzes, and engineering tinkering. The finale was attended by more than 60 students and 25 teachers from 12 states.

Over the last year, more than 2,000 students from 20 states were trained in new-age technologies by volunteers from STEM Learning. These students competed in 90 cluster and zonal, rounds. The top 27 teams from 12 states ? Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Karnataka , Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Odisha, Punjab, and Goa ? made it to the national finale.

Esteemed Chief Guests

·         Mr. D. K. Shivakumar, Honorable Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka

·         Mr. Madhu Bangarappa, Honorable Education Minister of Karnataka

Esteemed Guests of Honor

·         Ms. B. B. Cauvery, I.A.S., Commissioner for Public Instruction, Government of Karnataka

·         Ms. Aisshwarya DKS Hegde, Trustee-Secretary, Schools of National Education Foundation (NEF)

·         Dr. B. R. Guruprasad, Director, Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru

·         Mr. Ashutosh Pandit, CEO, STEM Learning

·         Mr. Siva Perubotla, MD and CIO, Brillio

·         Ms. Kusuma H, Social Leader

·         Mr. Abhishek Ranjan, Global Head of Sustainability, Brillio

Celebrated Mentors, Speakers, and Jury Members

The contestants were judged, and the winners felicitated by eminent personalities from the worlds of science, education, and technology. They included:

·         Mr. Ashok Pamidi, Former CEO, NASSCOM Foundation

·         Ms. Sudeepta Banerjee, Head of Resource Mobilization, Concern India Foundation

·         Ms. Kathleen Ulrich, MD and Global Head of Marketing, Brillio

·         Dr. Sarnam Singh, Senior Scientist, Former Dean, Nalanda University

·         Mr. Alexandre Besnard, Digital Admin, LP4Y

·         Dr. G. N. Dayananda, Outstanding Scientist (retired), Technology Management Directorate, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)

·         Ms. Anupama Ramachandra, Founder Principal, Delhi Public School Electronic City, Bengaluru

·         Mr. Vishwottam Kandikere, PhD, Assistant Vice President and Head ? DMPK, Syngene International Limited

·         Ms. Sunita Sharaf, Director, EDUscope

Speaking Mr. Ashutosh Pandit, Founder of STEM Learning, India’s biggest CSR-implementing organisation said: “We are pleased that the fourth edition of the National STEM Challenge has successfully fulfilled our objective of igniting a passion for science and technology among students from all corners of India. It is about empowering a generation to dream beyond boundaries. When we inspire curiosity, we plant the seeds of innovation. We are proud of our collaboration with Brillio in enabling students to pursue and imbibe highly sought-after STEM skills to foster individual and societal progress. Beyond this, keeping the momentum strong, we aim to reach every corner and foster scientific temperament and inquisitiveness. This has always been the founding ideology of the National STEM Challenge.”

Winners

Winners of National STEM Challenge 2024

Here’s a list of winners:

National Science & Math Model Making Awards:

1st: Deepak Kumar, (Basic School, Chota Govindpur, Jamshedpur), and Sunny Kumar, Basic School, Chota Govindpur, Jamshedpur)

2nd: Jishan Baidya (Bishnupur Sir Ramesh Institution) and SK. Farhan Uddin (Bishnupur Sir Ramesh Institution)

National Tech & Engineering Tinkering Awards:

1st: Dhrubajyothi Paik (Jadavpur Vidyapith, Kolkata) and Aditya Mondal (Jadavpur Vidyapith, Kolkata)

2nd: Maroju Harsha Vardhan Chary (ZPHS Nagol, Hyderabad) and Srikar Savanth (ZPHS Nagol, Hyderabad

National STEM Master Maker 2024 Awards:

Dhrubajyothi Paik (Jadavpur Vidyapith, Kolkata)

Jishan Baidya (Bishnupur Sir Ramesh Institution) 

National STEM Teacher’s Award:

·         Dattatray Raskar, Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Madhyamik Vidyalaya, Naigaon (Pune).