3.6.2019
Hrvatski Telekom’s donation program, which is being held this year in partnership with the Institute for Development and Innovation of Youth, will result in the STEM Curriculum for Extracurricular Activities that will be available to all schools and educational institutions
Hrvatski Telekom and the Institute for Development and Innovation of Youth have announced today the winners of the last year’s donation contest Generation Next and announced a new edition of the contest, this year under the new name - Generation NOW. The donation program will provide equipment, training of mentors and student activities and a STEM curriculum for extracurricular activities will be developed that will be available to all schools and educational institutions wishing to work with children on state-of-the-art technologies, under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Education. For the fourth consecutive year, teams from educational institutions and non-profits are invited to apply for a 900,000 kuna contest.
Of the 18 works from the last cycle of the donation program, presented today at the premises of Hrvatski Telekom, the expert jury selected the best two. In the elementary school category, the best project was made by the team from the Bedekovčina elementary school - Wireless Classroom - Analysis of the Impact of Computer Equipment on Air Quality in the IT Classroom. As for high school students, the Vukovar gymnasium team won the title of the best work. Vukovar has recently been proclaimed the best in the prestigious Arduino World Competition with its smart city project, and today they delighted everyone with the earthquake detector project in real time.
This year Hrvatski Telekom organized its first “Open Door Day” in its premises. This is an all-day event where the interested public, teachers, students, and parents can learn more about the donation program and get to know first-hand the best projects of the last competition.
Since the launch of the project in 2004, the donation contest has supported the implementation of about 300 projects with more than 10 million kunas, which have contributed positively to various segments of the society. In the last three years, partnering with IRIM, STEM knowledge has been transferred with the latest methods and with the help of the latest technology to more than 2,000 students nationwide.
Hrvatski Telekom is among the first companies to recognize the importance of systematic and comprehensive promoting of STEM education in Croatian schools, which, with the partner support of IRIM, develops STEM curriculum for extracurricular activities by age groups. This curriculum will help to introduce extracurricular STEM activities into formal education and will be available to any school and educational institution to give children the knowledge for the jobs of the future.
"Bringing STEM knowledge closer to everyone is essential for learning how to properly use technology to find solutions. That is why for the fourth year in a row we completely change the approach to learning in schools. We are proud that young people today have the opportunity to execute their ideas in schools using the latest technology,” commented Boris Drilo, Hrvatski Telekom’s MB member.
This year the contest has a new name - Generation NOW aiming to point out that technological changes are happening now, and that this generation is already using modern technology to change the world around us. In addition, three different categories are available from this year: the first is junior grades of elementary schools (1-4), the second senior grades of elementary schools (5-8) and the third for high schools. The new expert jury consists of Boris Drilo and Nina Išek Medjugorac from Hrvatski Telekom, Paolo Zenzerović from IRIM, Gordan Gledec from FER, Davor Šijanović, mentor of the Vukovar’s winning team of high schoolers and Lidija Kralj from the Ministry of Science and Education.
"The donation contest is aimed at educational institutions, primarily schools, but also associations, libraries and other entities that want to enable young people to enter the STEM area through a hands-on approach. Institutions that enter the program will be provided with equipment, education, and activities for students, modeled on our IRIM projects,” added Paolo Zenzerović from the Institute for Development and Innovation of Youth.
The aim of the donation contest is to connect the existing and new knowledge in the field of technology in the creation of creative IoT projects, to develop creativity, innovation and understanding of modern technologies, to create the opportunity for students to implement the project from the concept stage to the finished model, to learn from each other and thus gain self-confidence.
"Our purpose is to connect all citizens with the opportunities of now so that we all live better today as we build a better tomorrow. We are a big investor and a supporter of STEM education, so we are now developing the first STEM Curriculum adapted to elementary and high schools. Everything we do in this area we do to prepare our children for future jobs,” said Nina Išek Međugorac, director of Corporate Communications at Hrvatski Telekom.
