Published Date: May 2nd, 2025
Teams of learners from The Waid Academy in the East Neuk of Fife have been shortlisted for a National Innovation Competition that could see the winning team go to visit MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in Boston in September of this year.
The three teams from Fife join a final shortlisted group of ten teams from across the UK. The contingent from The Waid Academy are also the only teams to be chosen from Scotland.
The National Innovation Challenge is a competition which aims to develop innovative solutions to champion sustainability.
Students were set the task of developing a solution for a current challenge in industry. They were encouraged to either build on an existing process to improve it, or create an entirely new concept. The students then have the opportunity to improve this on a national or global scale.
The judges were focussed on four key areas when judging:
- How innovative is the proposed solution?
- What are the features and benefits of the proposal?
- What impact will this have? (financially, environmentally, socially)
- What is the future potential of the project?
The teams were judged against these areas and the top 10 proposals across the UK were then shortlisted with the opportunity to gain feedback on their projects and improve them for the final judging panel in June which consists of ten judges from a variety of national STEM ambassadors. They will also receive a specific feedback session prior to the final decision in July.
One team will win the prize of visiting MIT for one week where they will access the cutting-edge facilities and researchers to further develop their technical and personal skills. While in Boston they will also have time to visit historic sites, world class museums and diverse communities. They will review their idea with industry experts at themed events and campus conferences and experience the real-world technological impact on Climate and Sustainability.
The three Waid Academy Teams chose a wide variety of topics and areas to present their ideas on.
Brickteria by Lucas Bain and Murray Allan is a concept where calcifying bacteria is used to create microbial concrete. It can be used with traditional manufacturing to create sustainable concrete with a reduced environmental impact.
C.C.O.D.U is a concept by Anneliese Uringa and Arran Ogilvie which stands for 'Cracking Carbon dioxide and Oxygen Dispersion Unit'. The concept involves the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turning this into oxygen and carbon which can be turned into graphite and/or synthetic diamonds.
The ReComposer by Nicky Dimitrov is a recycling machine that would be integrated in most towns and cities. The ReComposer creates options of alternative products that can be made from the recyclable materials that are inserted, and will create whatever is selected.
Pupils Lucas and Murray from team Brickteria said: “It feels incredible to have made it this far and now a brilliant opportunity is within our reach.”
Pupils Anneliese and Arran from team C.C.O.D.U said: “At the start of the competition it was just a nice idea to aim for the top 10 and now we are here it is feels so surreal and its such a great and exciting opportunity”
The event was organised by Mrs Amy Neill (Teacher of Biology) said: “I saw an exciting opportunity to get pupils to take part in some real-world STEM thinking and an amazing chance to get to visit MIT. The students have worked so hard and all of their ideas have come from them and they have done all the work themselves. It was great to see students from different year groups taking part from S3 to S6. Their ideas are so inspiring and it is great to see what they brought forward as innovative solutions to real world issues.”
Headteacher Mr Duncan said: “We are unbelievably proud of these young learners. They have shown amazing creativity and ingenuity in coming up with their ideas and developing them. To be the only school in Scotland competing against other schools from across the UK is a great opportunity and we are proud to represent the country and the massive history that Scotland has in innovation and invention from the telephone to the tv. It is a great occasion to show that big ideas can come from anywhere and to see our young people follow in the footsteps of pioneers who changed the world.”
Final winners will be announced in July.
