News | In the Classroom
Inspiring tomorrow’s innovators Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow competition to inspire Kiwi Kids
By Claire Wright
Samsung, in partnership with MOTAT, is giving Kiwi kids the chance to unleash their number 8 wire mentality by using STEAM to help improve their communities. For students Year 7 to 10, the finalists will share $20,000 in prizes, including prize money and Samsung tech for them and their school. Principals Today chats with two of the judges for the Solve for Tomorrow competition – Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) education manager, Julie Baker and Samsung New Zealand head of corporate marketing, Simon Smith – about why it’s important for children to ignite their inner-innovators. Inspiring the innovators of tomorrow is what the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition is all about, so it made perfect sense for Samsung to partner up with MOTAT to deliver New Zealand’s first year of the competition. Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) education manager, Julie Baker says, “We want students to recognise that New Zealand has got a legacy of innovation.
“We have that legacy of innovation in our genetics. What we try and encourage our students to do is to tap into that and recognise that they can be innovators as well. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist. “As a whole, we are known to be an innovative nation, so we don’t accept things for what they are. We don’t look at something and think, ‘That could be better, but it’s not me that’s going to do it’. “We tend to think, ‘What if I could make it do this, as well as that, and why can’t we use this in a different way?’ “We have that legacy of innovation in our genetics. What we try and encourage our students to do is to tap into that and recognise that they can be innovators as well. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist.
Solve for Tomorrow launch event, featuring the three judges – Dr Siouxsie Wiles, Julie Baker and Simon Smith.
“You don’t have to be Peter Beck. You can be innovative around the small stuff as well, and that’s what we’re trying to encourage the students to do.” The key goal is to help students develop an ‘innovation mindset’, especially when it comes to solving real world issues in our communities. From income inequality to climate change, Kiwi kids can flex their creativity by showcasing solutions adults haven’t even thought of yet. Samsung New Zealand head of corporate marketing, Simon Smith says, “The Solve for Tomorrow competition is a nice way of getting your mind around the issues that are out there, and then coming up with your unique take on how to come up with an idea and a solution for it.
8 | Term 3, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz
“At Samsung, we’re innovating all the time – we always want to be first with new technology. At its heart though, we’re trying to meet the needs of our consumers. With Solve for Tomorrow, we’re taking it a step further and looking for ways Kiwi kids can serve their communities.”
“Because any kind of design thinking involves iteration and process, your outcome is often just a moment in time, and is likely to change as technology evolves. I will be looking at the student’s creative journey and how rigorous their process has been,” Julie says.
While the competition itself is about innovation, it fosters skills vital for future leaders outside of that as well – skills like teamwork and working collaboratively. “We’re preparing our future citizens,” Julie says.
“Did they just develop one idea, or did they start with a range of ideas and look at which one was going to best meet the outcomes of the community? Did they consult with the community end-users and did they identify and take on board the user’s issues?
A standout entry for the competition isn’t just about the final product, either. Undergoing explorative and iterative processes that take students to their final goal, to work towards an innovation mindset, is equally important.
“And then, did they go through a process which was not just linear? Was it iterative, did they circle back and keep changing and feeding through their learnings and putting those into the end-result?
