Novelty, innovativeness and practicality
The display, exhibition and assessment of models and products of the topics participating in this year’s contest happened at Nguyen Tri Phuong Secondary School in mid-April. There were many novel and innovative topics, attracting the attention of the organizers, judges and spectators.
“Making paper by traditional method and creating environmentally-friendly food containers using mimosa pigra’s trunk and pulp” by a group of students from Nguyen Huu Dat Secondary School (Quang Dien district) is one of the topics with novelty and innovativeness in the field of environmentally-friendly products.
The mimosa pigra is an exotic plant species which imposes a negative impact on the agricultural production, cultivation, travel, etc., of people for decades. Despite tremendous effort of agencies, units and local authorities in eradicating this kind of plant, positive results have not been obtained. The fact is that if this research produces successful outcome, it will contribute to solving the persistent “invasion” of mimosa pigra, while at the same time creating useful products.
“Testing the antibacterial and antifungal properties of the extract of Indian almond tree leaves to create preservatives of vegetables and fruits and foot bath bag” by a group of students from Tran Phu Secondary School (Hue City) is considered a highly practical topic which is optimal in real life because the materials are easy to find. Combining practical experience with scientific research, this topic is considered as one of the good technical solutions to climate change adaptation, environmental protection, economic development and especially human health.
In addition, there are topics with very interesting and innovative models and products that are highly applicable and effective in the fields of school supplies, computer software, household tools and children’s toys, etc. Some typical examples are “A research into mini-CNC laser engraving and milling machines and application softwares: Aspire, Candle, lasergrbl to process 3D products used in learning Industrial Technology at high school”, “Applying VBA and Microsoft Powerpoint programming to designing learning materials for chemistry at Junior high schools”, etc.
Another instance is the topic “Research, design and manufacture power-assisted legs controlled by voice and brain waves for rehabilitation and walking assistance for people with disabilities”, whichcarries a positive implication for people with disabilities who want to self-regulate in their daily life, access services more easily and integrate into the community.
This contest is under the chairmanship of the Union of Science and Technology Associations and the active coordination of the Department of Education and Training, the Department of Science and Technology, the Provincial Youth Union and other localities in the province. Having been organized for 16 times, the Contest has attracted 1,428 topics participating in the contest from students in the province. This year, the Organizing Committee received 164 applications to participate.
Constantly growing
The Provincial Innovation Contest for Youth and Children has been promoting the achieved results and becoming a useful intellectual playground for the students. Participating in the contest also opens up a very new form of teaching and learning, which emphasizes that learning activities in the school must be linked to reality, to research and innovation; familiarizing students with scientists’ ways of thinking and working.
That students are encouraged to research and innovate in the fields of science, technology, and engineering, as well as to apply their knowledge to solving real-life problems not only aims at developing students’ ability, but also contributes to the improvement of teaching quality and promoting innovation in organizing forms and teaching methods, testing and assessing student learning outputs in educational institutions.
A representative of the 2023 Contest Organizing Committee said that the judges conducted the actual assessment of the models at the exhibition area where they listened to the authors explaining how to operate the model, as well as listened to the reports at 5 different rooms for examiners for each of the 5 topics. Here, the authors presented their topics, answered questions from the examiners for about 15 minutes. The organization of the assessment at the examiners’ rooms was conducted seriously, openly and fairly.
According to the Contest’s Organizing Committee, 69 out of 164 topics won prizes, including 1 first prize, 7 second prizes, 14 third prizes and 47 consolation prizes. Among which, primary school has 14 winning topics, accounting for more than 20%; Junior high school has 23 winning topics, accounting for more than 33%; The Senior high school has 29 winning topics, accounting for 42%; and Vocational Education - Continuing Education Center has 3 winning topics, accounting for 4.4%. Among the winning topics, there are 22 topics winning 3rd prize and above, which are suggested to participate in the 19th National Innovation Contest for Youth and Children.
Through the search for novel and unique scientific ideas, the Contest is a useful playground, allowing intellectual and scientific exchange among young people and children in the province. This has made the quality and effectiveness of the Contest develop better over the years , brought it closer to the students, and promoted its thorough development in the coming time.