By Staff
April 3rd, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
I-STEM STUDENTS At Thomas A. Blakelock HS, Elsie MacGill SS and Aldershot School have been selected as regional finalists in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition, where students across Canada create innovative solutions to real-world problems using Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) learning. The competition focuses on how STEM can be applied to help address challenges, both locally and globally, enabling students to develop skills in critical thinking, collaboration and community responsibility.
Aldershot High School was the first in the Halton District School Board to offer the Stem program.
Only 12 teams have been selected for the next stage of the competition where they will produce a five-minute video explaining how their solution would create a more sustainable, inclusive and healthier world using technology. The teams will enter into the second phase of judging on March 31 as they compete to become national finalists.
Each of the regional finalists have received $2,500 in technology to support and enhance STEM learning. In the next phase, students will have the opportunity to win $5,000 to purchase technology.
I-STEM is an innovative, regional program for secondary students in Halton and beyond. Students in this four-year program develop innovation skills related to engineering design and design thinking, entrepreneurial thinking skills and global competencies. Students learn to be prepared for technological change and disruption, globalization and shifting demographics.
Keerthana Srinivasan, Grade 12, Aldershot High School
Keerthana Srinivasan, Grade 12, Aldershot School:
“Through I-STEM, I had the opportunity to not only explore global challenges but also develop the skills to analyze them in a meaningful way. Using tools like the Design Thinking Process, causal models, and gap analyses, I’ve been able to deconstruct complex issues—like faults in photovoltaic farms and satellites—by identifying their root causes and uncovering gaps in existing solutions.”
It was interesting to note that the majority of the students who made it to the Regional finals were female and from divergent cultures.
