Tech Futures Challenge
Solving real-world sustainability issues using science & technology2022 Tech Futures Challenge Team Projects
What Mentors and Judges think about TFC:
“The Challenge has given these kids the opportunity to explore STEM topics far beyond the scope of classroom learning and apply them to the real-world problems they are most passionate about.”
What TFC participants say about the program:
- “The Tech Futures Challenge approach really helped us to better understand the problem we are trying to solve and build solutions that are better suited to our end-users and their needs.”
- “I would recommend this challenge to anyone interested in STEM field.”
The Tech Futures Challenge engages & inspires youth to work collaboratively with friends, classmates or independently on real-world sustainability problems using science, design thinking and mentorship support to build tangible STEM-based solutions. This project-based learning experience encourages innovative and entrepreneurial thinking and includes hands-on workshops, collaborative community engagement and project development resources.
Developed from the foundations and successes of MindFuel’s flagship program geekStarter, the Tech Futures Challenge is open to grades 7-12 & post-secondary self-organized teams from across Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon. As an enrichment program based on student-driven, hands-on research projects, it supports youth in developing critical 21st-century skills, including active problem-solving, innovation, creativity, collaboration, communication, and sustainability practices. Providing community, STEM skills development and mentorship, the Tech Futures Challenge offers youth the opportunity to develop their innovation mindset through exploring, ideating and prototyping their viable solutions using emerging STEM fields such as automation, bioengineering, coding, robotics and synthetic biology.
This two-part challenge is offered through the MindFuel Collaboration Platform. It is designed to support our unprecedented circumstances of COVID-19, encourage diverse and creative perspectives, and accommodate youth’s changeable school circumstances.
Click here or the Team Projects heading above to see all the amazing TFC and geekStarter project
Want to learn more or register a team for the next Tech Futures Challenge?
- Algae Bioreactor – Siksika Nation high school, Siksika Nation, AB: automating algae growth for carbon sequestration to offset carbon emissions.
- CelluCoat – University of Calgary iGEM, Calgary, AB: developing an edible preservative coating for fruit & vegetables to improve preservation and reduce food waste.
- Dia-beatable – Lethbridge high school iGEM, Lethbridge, AB: developing a diabetes treatment using glucose-induced self-amplifying messenger RNA (sa-mRNA).
- EcOxpress – Green Earth team, Toronto, ON: building a smart transportation phone app that encourages reducing our carbon footprint.
- Food Flip – Rundle College high school, Calgary, AB: building a fresh produce exchange app to reduce food waste.
