Young change agents from West Midlands schools have been recognised for their creativity in the realm of Digital Reality, as our Mission: Sustainability 2023 programme concluded with an online awards presentation on YouTube.
Launched during British Science Week back in March, Mission: Sustainability 2023 was free to enter and saw participating schools tackle different challenges based on 'How Digital Reality can build a more sustainable world'.
In partnership with our group company MX Reality, we created our own virtual online learning experience for pupils themed on energy-saving. Younger students were also tasked with explaining the features and benefits of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, while older pupils designed their own virtual learning environments themed on climate change.
Entries were judged by senior Enzen and MX Reality colleagues and the winning pupils announced in an end-of-term presentation on YouTube, with their schools earning cash prizes to spend on science teaching.
You can watch the awards ceremony in full here:
The Winners
Creativity
- 1st Place: Alfie, Daniel and Elliott from St Columba's Catholic Primary School in Birmingham
- 2nd Place: Ava from St John Fisher Catholic Primary School in Birmingham
- 3rd Place: Gracie and Ope from St Columba's Catholic Primary School in Birmingham
Design
- 1st Place: Blake, Maireide, Ellie-Mae, Alexandra and Bliss from St Bede's Catholic Middle School in Redditch
- 2nd Place: Rebecca, Chloe, Kizie, Matilda and Alice from King Edward VI Northfield School for Girls in Birmingham
- 3rd Place: Harry, Ciaran, Cody, Leonard, Omid and Oscar from St Bede's Catholic Middle School in Redditch
Innovation
- Hazel Oak School in Solihull
During the programme, participating schools received an innovation fund to invest in creative science teaching and access to the latest Digital Reality industry knowledge to inform their lessons.
They also had opportunity to join an online careers talk from MX Reality, which specialises in producing Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality and Artificial Intelligence solutions to improve performance, safety and sustainability in utilities.
"We were very much interested in digital reality and the metaverse because we're a forward-thinking science department," said Phil Mutton, Head of Science at St Bede's Catholic Middle School. "The programme fitted in well with how we like to teach topics at this school. The pupils were very engaged and created entries full of detail and imagination. They went above and beyond the scope and really, really enjoyed it."
Mission: Sustainability was launched in 2020 to inspire young people to pursue STEM careers and show them how they can make a difference to the future of our planet. In 2022, the programme won the Social Impact category at the UK Energy Innovation Awards and the Sustainability category at the Education Awards.