The Annual National Science & Technology Fair was held at the Derek Walcott Square from March 27 – 29. And once again, LUCELEC was one of the major corporate sponsors of the event. Speaking at the official opening of the Science Fair, Corporate Communications Manager, Roger Joseph, explained LUCELEC’s support in the context of helping to build sustainability and resilience for St. Lucia with science and young people as fundamental pillars.
He told the audience which included Governor General His Excellency Sir Emmanuel Neville Cenac and the Minister for Education Honourable Dr. Gail Rigobert, that several ‘graduates’ of the Science Fair have gone on to receive additional support from LUCELEC in the form of a scholarship to attend the annual 4-week Student Programme for Innovation in Science and Engineering (SPISE) held every year at the UWI Cave Hill campus in Barbados. This advanced summer workshop brings together top science students from around the Caribbean to develop core capabilities in Science, Technical Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as necessary learning tools for the next generation of Caribbean science and technology leaders. Many of LUCELEC’s SPISE scholars have gone on to take up enrolment in some of the leading internationally recognised universities such as MIT, Yale, and Harvard. The CCM told the students to see themselves as budding scientists and inventors and the Science Fair as a stepping stone to greater things.
As always the projects on display at the Science Fair suggest that students are actively thinking about problems and challenges in their communities. The exhibits demonstrated the students’ intelligence and creativity, and may very well be refined and developed into the next major scientific or technological breakthrough. Among the highlights at the Fair was a remote controlled tractor, the “Lego Mindstorm I”, by the Millet Primary designed to desilt and remove blockages in rivers during or after major rains and flooding. Others included a pre-packaged cocoa tea mix from the St. Aloysius R. C. Boys School, and local fruit and veggie pops from the Bocage Combined School to encourage young people to consume more fruit and vegetables in the form of tasty treats.
LUCELEC has been sponsoring the National Science & technology Fair and the SPISE scholarship for the past 11 years. The Company also supports Coding and Robotics workshops put on by the Ministry of Education with support from USAID.
