Made in the Caribbean Led by NIHERST

Four trainers from the NIHERST/NGC National Science Centre and NIHERST's Innovation Department recently shared their expertise in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, helping to build the innovative and inventive capacity of young people in the island. This activity is part of the Made in the Caribbean Project coordinated by the Caribbean Council for Science and Technology (CCST) and implemented by NIHERST. Through the period 23-30 August, 20 camp counsellors and educators from primary and secondary schools in the island were trained in workshop sessions to lead Technopreneurship and Robotics camps for young innovators and inventors between the ages 7 and 17.

The Technopreneurship camps tapped the creativity of the children as they learned to design games, musical interfaces and video game controllers using everyday items such as paper, plasticine, water and paper clips. Technopreneurship fosters innovative and entrepreneurial thinking and skills using science and technology. The Robotics camps also encouraged creativity and innovation. Campers, using Lego Mindstorms NXT kits, complete with sensors to detect touch, sound, light and ultra-sonic waves, were able to assemble robots and program them to navigate through a maze which they also designed.

The counsellors were thrilled to gain additional teaching methods for engaging their students, in a more hands-on way, in learning about science and technology, and imparting the core values of creativity, invention, innovation, leadership and responsibility to the young campers. They found it very rewarding to see the children absorbing knowledge on subjects which just moments earlier they knew nothing about.

The Made in the Caribbean Project was launched in Barbados in 2013 through grant funding from the Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund for Economic and Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries. The project seeks to further develop a foundation of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours conducive to the development of a culture of science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship in the region.

For more information on Made in the Caribbean go to ccst-caribbean.org or call Tel: (868) 628-4398/622-7505 Email: ccst@niherst.gov.tt