The head of an international trade and management consulting firm would like to see some of the unique innovations and inventions by local students reproduced, marketed and sold to the public.
Principal Consultant with Lisa Gale Consulting, Lisa Gale, was so impressed by the projects created by primary and secondary students that she has urged that some of them be put up for sale.
The students had participated in the Media Resource Department (MRD) and Barbados Light & Power Company Ltd’s (BL&P) Fifth Annual Electricity and Renewable Energy Science Exposition and BMEX competitions this year.
She made the comments while delivering the feature address at the prize-giving ceremony for the two competitions this morning at BL&P’s Christie Conference Room, Garrison, St. Michael.
“These are our future leaders, and I can say that we are in good hands. I take the opportunity, therefore, to encourage the organizers to deepen the partnership to possibly include a segment for those selected projects that can be replicated and sold. It is very good to just have a beautiful display, but there are some of them that we could get to the stage where we could replicate and sell for the benefit of the creators as well as the schools.
“I am sure that many admirers at BMEX at least wanted to buy something but they couldn’t as the very name of it suggested that it was just a display. I could’ve got a chance to purchase one of the doorbells from Daleron [Thomas] who attends the Frederick Smith Secondary School, or one of the games from the St. Philip Primary School,” she told the audience, which included Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Senator Dr. Romel Springer and Permanent Secretary, Janet Phillips.
While lauding the two entities for staging the successful exhibitions, Mrs. Gale pointed out that most of the population was not aware of the contributions private sector companies made to the young people of Barbados.
The consultant said often times, that sector was to blame for this “simply because they don’t share the stories sufficiently” with the public at large.
Mrs. Gale told participants that they were all winners even though some of them may not have taken home the top prizes. She also encouraged other companies to follow BL&P’s example by investing in the youth, as part of their social corporate responsibility.
Senator Dr. Springer, in his remarks, told participants that their knowledge and interest in the area of renewable energy aligned with Government’s vision of having 100 per cent renewable energy by the year 2030.
Adding, that this was an ambitious goal, the Parliamentary Secretary said that Government was hoping to be greener “by that period”.
“When the goals of the private sector and the goals of the public sector align, this augurs well for the development of the nation. So, I commend the BL&P for their continued support for education and for providing sponsorship for BMEX and the Electricity and Renewable Energy Science Exposition.
“I also take the opportunity to congratulate the MRD for their continued efforts in bringing the creativity of our nation’s children to the fore. Events such as the BMEX and the science exposition have given stakeholders in education the opportunity to see the innovation that is taking place in our schools. It also highlights the positives that can occur when all partners in education work together,” he said.
The winners in the Electricity and Renewable Energy Science Exposition in the primary category were: First place – Eagles Academy, for the Waste to Energy project; Second place – St. Phillip Primary School – Homemade Battery Powered Village; and Third, Eagles Academy for the hydrologic system.
In the secondary schools’ category, Frederick Smith Secondary won first and second place with Farmers Friend (a monkey repellent) and for a wireless charger, respectively. Daryll Jordan Secondary School came third with the project LIMPET Wave Energy.
In the BMEX competition, the winning primary schools were St. Lucy Primary, first place for Let’s Go Bananas; second place, St. Bartholomew’s Primary for the contribution, Ginger-licious; and St. Silas Primary, third place, for the Natural Gems exhibit.
In the secondary schools’ category, the Ann Hill School placed first with Celebrating Creativity; second place went to Daryll Jordan Secondary for the Reimaging Solar Energy exhibit, while the Coleridge & Parry School placed third with the Non-Conventional Farming project.
The Most Innovative School Display was awarded to Eagles Academy for the Waste to Energy project.