Robots, innovation, new creative inventions and ideas of students from all over Croatia, all of this will be part of another Innovation Day this Saturday, May 11, at Infobip’s “Alpha Centauri” campus in Zagreb. A large educational project that the companies STEMI, Infobip and A1, with the support of many partners, već They spend four years in schools and this season ends with a spectacular event where the finalists of this year’s STEMwave program will be.
Deep satisfaction of what has been achieved
More than 500 students together with more than a hundred teachers created, programmed and designed dancing robots, AI applications, IOT programs for six months. How it looks in schools, and what Innovation Day means for students, were told to us by the mentors of several teams.
The Rovišće Elementary School team won last year’s competition. They participated in the “Robotics and automated systems” category, in which they had the challenging tasks of assembling and calibrating the Hexapod robot, programming the application, creating a 3D model of its parts, and writing a program with the help of which the robot will eventually dance.
– It was a moment of deep satisfaction because I saw how their effort, dedication and work on the project resulted in great success. I felt like I was a witness to their personal and professional growth, because they showed an extraordinary ability for teamwork, innovation and persistence – said their mentor and teacher Davorka Medvedovi.
The victory worked extremely motivating for her students. Two students who were in the winning team last year took on the role of mentors to the new team members this year.
– Winning the competition had a positive impact on us and our school, especially because it is a rural school. She raised the reputation of the school and stimulated students’ interest in the STEM field. In addition, she strengthened cooperation between the school, local technology companies and the community and encouraged the development of innovative projects in education – said Davorka Medvedovi.
It is important to encourage them to get involved
They found themselves among the best and students of Bjelovar High School. Their mentor and teacher Mihaela Kelava says that they thought they were being pranked when the results were announced.
– A feeling of joy and pride, with a touch of disbelief. I was surprised that with such a large number of involved schools, we managed to implement the whole project the best. Not because I thought we did something wrong, but because all the participants were involved and engaged with great enthusiasm and will – she tells us.
Considering that it is about high school students, along with technical obstacles, a tight school schedule had to be adjusted in order to maintain concentration on a demanding task.
– My biggest challenge is to succeed in getting students interested in getting involved in this project. Everyone is “energised” and eager to work after receiving recognition for their work. And then it subsides a bit until the beginning of next year. The key is to get students who are interested in that area of work and willing to take their time. Therefore, my strategy is to have a high-quality “pre-election campaign” to involve students in this project – concludes Mihaela Kelava.
As he says, this year they ambitiously got involved in three programs, completed two of them, and the whole process brought them some new experiences and learned lessons for future generations.
Work, diligence and meeting deadlines
For the chatbot project Bjelovar’s sixth-grade students from Orehovica elementary school were also awarded. Their mentor and teacher Tanja Oreški says how proud she was, and the results completely surprised them.
– First – disbelief. Do we? Impossible! Then – pride. Increasing self-confidence – when they saw that, regardless of the fact that they are only 12 years old, with a good idea and hard work they can really do anything they set their mind to. And later – excitement, nervousness, preparation of the presentation and speech… All feelings mixed into one – Tanja Oreška recalled.
In her opinion The key conditions for success are work, diligence, persistence, teamwork, listening to the ideas of all team members: understanding that every idea is worth considering. Discussion of what can be done and what is still too demanding. Mutual respect, respect of deadlines, etc.
Motivation to other students
Pupils of Bjelovar Technical schools were awarded by STEMI last year for their initiative. Leonardo made his own hexapod – full design and code. In total, he made two hexapods, says his mentor and teacher Ljudevit Sakal.
– I think that this victory is a great motivation for other students to see that they can make a difference if they screw up their sleeves. Since last year, I have been teaching the optional subject Robotics in English, so this served as an excellent advertisement for other students to enroll in that subject as well – said Sakal, adding that they have prepared 3D design for this season.