Young Scientists Kenya (YSK) boot camp held a boot camp yesterday Moi Girls High School Nairobi in the run up to the National Science and Technology exhibition in August 2019.
The boot camp is part of the initiative’s outreach programme that aims to target 15 schools Kitui, Machakos and Makueni, Northern, Coast, Mount Kenya, Rift, Western and Nairobi regions between January and July 2019.
During the inaugural National Science and Technology Exhibition in 2018, 22 projects, out of 72 presented, were rated as the best and the students who came up with them won awards. They won school fees vouchers and mobile devices as well as an opportunity to attend a business boot camp hosted by YSK 16 – 20 February 2019 courtesy of BLAZE.
BLAZE By Safaricom has sponsored the high school outreach programme and national exhibition to a tune of over Ksh. 45 million in cash and kind.
Young Scientists Kenya (YSK) launched National Science and Technology exhibition for secondary school students in July 2017. The exhibition, which is modelled from the BT Young Scientists & Technology Exhibition in Ireland, aims to transform innovation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and to tap into the wealth of talent in secondary schools by making STEM subjects accessible to all.
The inaugural competition saw the program visiting 80 schools in 10 counties. This year, YSK is partnering with the Ministry of Education, the Centre for Mathematics, Science and technology Training in Africa (CEMASTEA), the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI), the Embassy of Ireland and sponsors such as Safaricom, the Institute of Physics, Concern Worldwide and the French Embassy to scale up its outreach programme to reach 275 schools.
Last year’s exhibition saw 92 projects presented by 160 students during a two-day event held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in July 2018. Wilson Irungu and Abdulrahman Sheikh Ali from Nakuru High School emerged the winners thanks to their Internet-based energy monitoring and audit system concept. The winners won a fully paid trip to showcase at the BT Young Scientists & Technology Exhibition in Ireland that ran between 9th to 12th January 2019.
