43 teams from 16 countries are through to the BIEA 2021 International Youth STEM Innovation Competition!

From banana leaves to biodegradable tapioca films, the students have come up with many fascinating ideas to pack their school lunches.

Congratulations to everyone who submitted their projects!

The list of the finalists is here:

The finalist teams will present their projects to the judges’ panels from 12- 18th July via Zoom.

Winners will be announced at an online award ceremony in late September 2021.

The British International Education Association (BIEA) joins SME Climate Hub and commits to halve greenhouse gas emissions before 2030 towards net-zero before 2050.

BIEA announced today that it had become one of the few education institutions to join the SME Climate Hub, a new groundbreaking one-stop-shop climate action platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to curb carbon emissions, build business resilience and take climate leadership.

The SME Climate Hub is co-hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, the We Mean Business coalition and the United Nations Race to Zero campaign.  It has received support from several supply chain leaders, including BT Group, Ericsson, IKEA, Telia and Unilever, as well as funding support from Amazon and Verizon.

BIEA has become one of the first signatories to the UN-recognized “SME Climate Commitment”, which forms part of the SME Climate Hub. In making this commitment, BIEA has pledged to halve its carbon emissions by 2030, achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and to report on progress towards these aims regularly.

On the logic behind the organisation’s decision to join the initiative, Gareth Bullock, the president of BIEA said, “Climate change is an urgent threat to all of us. Science tells us now is the time to act faster to tackle this challenge. With sustainability at the core of all BIEA’s work, we are more committed than ever to achieve zero carbon. And we are working with our partners around the world in the education sector to support schools, teachers, students and local communities to take climate action! ”

BIEA is at the forefront of engaging schools and students with climate change topics. Through STEM project initiatives such as RePack to Restore Our World, the Compost Challenge, Save Our Shores from Plastic Pollution. BIEA has encouraged thousands of young people around the world in taking climate action and helping schools to become more sustainable institutions.

For more details of BIEA’s projects, please visit www.bieacompetition.org.uk

The British International Education Association (BIEA) welcomed a royal visit from the Duchess of Cornwall on 19th February at its head office at the Granville Centre in London. Despite the heavy rain, Camila, 72 appeared in high spirit as she toured the Centre speaking to staff working on a number of community and education projects.

Nikki Collins, CEO of BIEA gave an introduction to the Duchess about the BIEA’s International STEM Youth Innovation Competition, whose 2020 theme encompasses the plastic pollution problem. The competition officially launched at the Royal Institution last month, it engages young STEM students (aged 9 – 21） in technological innovation and how it can be used to clear harmful plastic waste from our rivers and oceans. Teams from 47 countries and regions are taking part, including UK, USA, Australia, China, Finland, Mexico, Pakistan, UAE, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Poland and others. The grand international final will take place in London on 1st – 2nd of July with spontaneous litter clean up along the Thames riverbanks.

The Duchess was very impressed by the international reach of the competition. She also congratulated the BIEA team’s artistic efforts. A giant marine sculpture created from recycled plastic bottles was the centrepiece in the gallery providing a visual reminder of the issues of plastic waste. The Duchess revealed that both she and Prince Charles support the fight against plastic pollution, it’s a cause close to their hearts. Her visit also coincided with the day when Prince Charles made an impassioned speech on plastic waste 50 years ago.

The Duchess accepted a gift of metal straws from Christy Ho (aged 9), a pupil from Twyford School, Winchester who is taking part in the 2020 competition with an all-girls team.

It’s estimated that the UK fast food industry alone used nearly a billion plastic straws a year and they’re one of the top five most common forms of rubbish picked up from coastlines. Due to their small size, plastic straws are not recycled and end up in landfill and often in the ocean.

15 Jan 2020 (London, UK) – The British International Education Association (BIEA) brought together experts in plastic recycling, coastal marine science and waterway conservation to discuss the issue of plastic pollution at a half-day conference at London’s Royal Institution.  

An international audience made up of STEM experts, industry professionals, representatives from the Chinese and Polish embassies in London and numerous educators from the UK, China, Venezuela and Nigeria listened to presentations and a discussion about the issue of plastic pollution, and how a STEM education can help young scientists become part of the solution.

A giant marine animal made out of clear plastic bottles provided a visual reminder of the issue of plastic waste, and was the centrepiece for the launching of the BIEA’s international STEM Youth Innovation Competition [hyperlink: https://bieacompetition.org.uk.]  Student teams are invited to research, write a report and design a solution to ‘Save our shores from plastic waste through STEM,’ with finalists moving on final rounds in June/July 2020. Open to anyone between the ages of 9 and 21 years old, the winning teams from 9-17 age group will take cash prizes to contribute to their school STEM labs, and the 18-21 age group from universities will take part in the ‘University Challenge’ and become youth STEM ambassadors. 

Last year’s competition asked young people aged between 9 and 17 to think about how drones could help conserve an endangered animal species. The competition reached schools in 34 countries and teams from 18 different countries make it to the final in theUK to present their ideas. This year the BIEA anticipate even larger participation as they have extended the age range to include college and university entries.   

Anna and Daisy, now Y11s from team ‘Burnkool’ at Kent College in the UK explained how the competition helped them ‘develop our ability to work as a team, as well as raise our awareness of current global issues. We learned new skills and how to overcome challenges with our design. We got to experience new innovative technology and were able to apply it to real-life scenarios. The fact that what we were doing could really help in the future was a strong motivation to give our all to the project, which really helped us to progress as a group.’ Their teacher Head of Design & Technology Mike Cloke says,‘it was fantastic to have so many students from different subject areas pooling thoughts. The two teams that made it through to the finals in London had an amazing day; they were pushed out of their comfort zones, had their efforts celebrated, rode a boat along the Thames and slept for the entire journey back to Canterbury – perfect!’

BIEA’s STEM Chairman David Hanson, who made his own radio as a youngster says the competition aims to capture the imagination and interest of young people, highlighting STEM as a force for good. Young scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians can think outside the box and invent extraordinary solutions to the global problem of plastic pollution.

Mechanical Engineer Manu Mulakkal from Imperial College, London talked about the challenges of recycling multi-layered packaging. The production of PET (Polyethylene terephthalate)has almost doubled since 2014 and despite improvements in mechanical and chemical recycling methods much more needs to be done to create plastics or packaging that can be more easily recycled as well as increase demand for recycled materials. Since the 5p plastic bag charge was introduced in England in 2015 their use has gone down by 80%, but the average English household still holds 54 ‘bags for life’, made of much stronger plastic which is more difficult to process. Mulakkal says technology alone cannot solve the problem of plastic pollution; ‘technology, industry, policy and increasing public awareness about recycling and the lifespan of plastic – all play an important role.’

Coastal Marine Scientist Heidi Burdett from Heriot-Watt University introduced us to Maerl, the red seaweed that provides vital shelter for marine creatures in the coastal beds around the UK. Most people are aware of the degradation of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, but largely unaware of the slow-growing reefs threatened by temperature rises in the seas around the British Isles.  A striking graphic created by Ed Hawkins shows how temperatures have increased in the years since 1848 and Burdett explained how the sensitive Maerl reefs are already showing signs of being overtaken by opportunistic species which can survive in warmer waters. She’s already striving to reduce her carbon footprint, and on the topic of plastic pollution points out that, ‘even if we took away all the plastic straws ever made we’d still have climate change’. 

Conference speakers and panelists all emphasised the importance of collaboration if plastic pollution is to be tackled. Waterway charity Thames 21 mobilises volunteers to clean up areas of the London riverbanks. Deputy CEO Chris Coode explained how the disposal of domestic wet wipes is actually changing the shape of the river bed as they get caught up with twigs and branches in the Thames. In one clear-up, locals counted 220 wet wipes in a single square metre of river bed! ‘Clear-up volunteers go on to be ambassadors for the charity, collecting data on smartphones and feeding it back to our organisation. Putting tech in the hands of people is how we can help solve the problem of pollution. After an energetic clear-up, many of our volunteers vowed they’d never use a wet wipe again!’.

In a lively discussion about whether STEM education can save the planet, Imperial College mathematician Lynda White and British Council Science Adviser Adrian Fenton talked about how to engage young people in STEM, promote best practiceand attract the best graduates to teaching STEM subjects. Rick Chandler, who has over thirty years’ board experience in technology in global companies and organisations talked about what employers want in a STEM education and Kelly Smith of the Royal Society stressed the importance of a broad, balanced and connected education system to promote excellence in science. Educator and founder of coding4kids NagashilpaSeethamraju compared the STEM environments in the US and India, and shared her top tips for teams wanting to take part in the BIEA’s international STEM Youth Innovation Competition. She coached two successful teams in last year’s competition and is intending to help over ten teams come up with solutions to this year’s challenge.

The BIEA is delighted to announce that the University of Northampton is on board as a partner for our 2020 STEM conference and competition: STEM (Stop) the Tide of Plastic Pollution. We are proud to join forces with them in our endeavour to quell the growing plastic problem that our oceans face, and to provide a better education to children across the globe.

The university has very generously offered our cause financial, technical, and training support that we believe will help raise our STEM-based ventures to the next level next year and beyond, and will aid the company as a whole to promote ecological values to schools worldwide, as well as a stimulating and streamline education system. We hope to represent a modern concern for the pressing environmental issues our planet faces by incorporating them into our respective learning spheres. We hope to build a close relationship with the university over the coming years, and believe that our work will encourage other universities to follow in this vein; the resources that universities can provide – and the collective knowledge and experience of their teaching staff – will be crucial in inspiring the next generation at our competitions and providing stimulating panel discussion and debates at our conferences.

The university will also assist our competition by offering the teams greater incentives to perform: the members of the winning team, particularly that of the 15-17 age group, will be recognised in some way for their achievement if they were to apply. They will also be in attendance at the international final in July, where they will be watching and supporting the teams, as well as providing career guidance for those members wishing to speak to the representatives present.

This will be a great opportunity for the students to engage with a university adopting a fresh approach to learning; the University of Northampton is a young, ambitious, and prestigious university based in a fast-growing town 60 miles north of London. It has been recognised for its commitment to innovation and social enterprise by being names the UK’s first Changemaker Campus in 2012, an enormous achievement considering the university’s age, and a clear sign of its intentions going forward. We are proud to be partnered with such a committed and ambitious institution, and anticipate a constructive relationship that will help us create a future we want to visit!