Innovation Challenge participants

On the 8 of August, our team (Phoebe Brighouse-Johnson, Sean Chiramel, Sean Barrett and myself) had the opportunity to attend the QUT Science Week Innovation
Challenge.

Our task was to develop a solution to one of several real-world problems, which would later be presented to ‘investors’ who allocated fake money to the ideas
they found most compelling.

The problem our team chose to tackle was reducing the number of Crown of Thorns Starfish (COTS) damaging the coral in the Great Barrier
Reef. We came up with a robot that uses pre-existing statistical probability calculators to work out where the COTS will end up based on ocean currents, which then injects the COTS with vinegar. This is a quick solution that has very little impact on the surrounding environment.

Overall, the day was very enjoyable and we all learned a lot. I would recommend this to anyone interested in science, innovation, or marketing.

A big thank-you to Mr Doolan for organising us to attend and Mr Jennings for transporting us to and from the QUT Kelvin Grove Campus on the day.

Micah Matthews-Fredrick , Middle School Captain (Year 9)