Have these STEM students found the solution to big-city traffic?

  • The Sci-Tech Challenge asks students in Europe to use their STEM skills to address global challenges.
  • This year, students came up with ideas for how to deal with big-city traffic.
  • The annual Challenge is a collaboration between ExxonMobil and Junior Achievement Europe (JA Europe).

Article was originally published May 28, 2019.

There aren’t many problems in the world that can’t be solved with the help of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In fact, we can’t even begin to address some of the world’s biggest challenges without the help of experts in STEM fields. And yet by 2030, Europe is on course to produce just 8% of the world’s STEM graduates

In an energy company like ExxonMobil, STEM skills are at the heart of everything we do. Supporting STEM education is hugely important to us – and the Sci-Tech Challenge is one of our pan-European programmes.

Organized in association with JA Europe, the competition challenges students across the continent to apply their STEM skills to solving some of the biggest challenges facing society. This year’s challenge? How to address big-city traffic. Find out what our 2019 finalists from Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania came up with in this film:

Launched in 2010, the Sci-Tech Challenge is designed to motivate students aged 15-18 to consider STEM-oriented careers, raise their awareness of the importance of STEM skills, and allow them to see first-hand how these skills can be applied in enterprising ways.

“The reason we chose city congestion for this year’s challenge is firstly because it’s something many of us have to face,” explained Nikolaas Baeckelmans, chairman of the 2019 jury and ExxonMobil’s VP of EU Affairs. “And secondly because it matches perfectly with what we try to achieve with this competition – asking students to find practical solutions to fundamental societal challenges, using science and technology.”

The Sci-Tech Challenge has so far involved more than 1,500 volunteers from ExxonMobil and engaged over 45,000 students. This year’s final was hosted by ambassador Luminita Odobescu, permanent representative of Romania on the Council of the European Union – with ‘Connecting Education’ being a key theme of Romania’s 2019 presidency of the council.

“The Sci-Tech Challenge is a great opportunity to give students an interesting way to learn, and to help them discover careers in STEM,” Philippe Ducom, president of ExxonMobil Europe, said during the final. “For ExxonMobil it’s not only a competition, it’s a pipeline for new talent.”

Sign up to our Energy Factor Europe newsletter to learn more about our commitment to STEM education.

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