Thanks to everyone who participated in our first-ever Girls in STEM Design Challenge. This event was co-hosted with our partners at the University of Technology Sydney – Women in Engineering & IT. A fabulous ONLINE event where girls across Australia in years 5-8 used a design thinking framework to help improve the lives of people whilst practising social distancing.
See the standout contributors and innovative solutions here!
Imogen, Year 7 – Automatic Hand Sanitiser
Imogen used the design thinking process to solve the problem “How can we protect our home from contamination during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond?”. She created a prototype of an automatic hand sanitiser system that used an ultrasonic sensor and an Arduino to detect hand movement. The next stage of her prototyping process would be to create the mechanical system to press down on the sanitiser pump – Imogen drew an electrical circuit and 3D design of what the mechanical system would look like. The problem was significant, the solution innovative and technically viable and she communicated her ideas very well in her pitch video.
Sienna and Jazelle, Year 5 – DOCBOTDRONE
Sienna and Jazelle used the design thinking process to solve the problem, “How might we get a Doctor to patients to collect vitals and not in person?” They drew empathy maps to really understand the problem for each of their stakeholders and researched existing solutions. They created a very convincing pitch video that explained their solution and showed their prototype – a 3D drawing of the DOCBOTDRONE and a flowchart showing the logic of how it works. Their drone unfolds into a small robot carrying a tablet with the doctor on the screen as well as devices to measure vitals.
Caitlin and Stephanie, Year 6 – Glass Chamber Initiative to allow you to socialise with friends
This glass chamber allows you to meet up with your friends in a glass house without risking sharing the virus.
Isabel and Mia, Year 7 and 8 – Online platform for school aged children with hearing impairments
“The main feature of this platform will be the video chat function allowing users to connect with peers, careers and teachers. This video chat includes specific feature to assist those with hearing problems. Specific features available on this platform include: emojis, reactions, colours, fonts, the ability to mute other participants and the ability to request commnunication. Our prototype is shown on the next page.”
Nikita and Antra, Year 8– ‘KidsQuad’ learning environment for K-2
Nikita and Antra solved the problem that kids from K-2 find it hard to learn in a remote environment as learning tools currently being used such as google classroom, zoom, etc are quite advanced and more suited to an older demographic. They designed and prototyped a website.
Eloise, Amelia, and Alexis, Year – ‘Stuck at home sport’
This team designed an app for at-risk individuals that allows them to exercise from their home but with virtual reality and street-view to display their local area. The app allows you to message your neighbours as you pass.
Sophie – App to communicate with teachers
Sophie’s app helps students connect with their teachers through an app as currently it is difficult to know when teachers are free to help. She prototypes it on paper first drawing each of the screens of the app.