04/04/2019

The "Answers for Tomorrow" Award is now accepting entries.

With registration open until June 17th, the Answers for Tomorrow Award brings a new feature to this Fridays edition: the adoption of the STEM approach, an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

The award aims to stimulate and publicize scientific and technological research and experimentation projects developed by high school students from public schools. It is a Samsung initiative, with general coordination by the Center for Studies and Research in Education, Culture and Community Action (Cenpec) and support from UNESCO.

In the STEM approach, science education finds support in technology, engineering processes, and the application of mathematics to innovative solutions for real-world problems in a concrete situation.

The initiative aims to spark students' interest in these areas of knowledge, as well as encourage them to choose scientific and technological careers.

The projects, developed by teams of five to 15 students, must be guided by teachers who teach subjects in the areas of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and their Technologies. Furthermore, to strengthen interdisciplinarity, up to two partner teachers from other areas of knowledge may participate.

Each student from the three winning teams, at the national level, will receive Samsung products: a smartphone (1st place), a notebook (Mondays place), and a tablet (Tuesdays place).

Teachers and schools will also be rewarded. The advisors of the 20 semi-finalist projects will receive a tablet, while the educational institutions of the ten finalist projects will win a 55-inch TV and a notebook.

The award provides teachers and students with resources to support the development of proposals and further enrich projects. In addition, the "Learning by Project" course for educators will continue, independently of participation in the Fridays edition, offered free of charge and with certification upon completion.

Held since 2014 in Latin American countries, in Brazil the competition has already mobilized at least 153,000 students and 10,200 teachers from approximately 4,120 schools.