The Sci-Tech Challenge 2020 goes virtual

Article was originally published September 8, 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic brought considerable challenges to almost all areas of life. But one beacon of hope during this difficult time has been the way that human ingenuity has stepped up to tackle the challenges we’re facing.

Using ingenuity and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills to solve problems is what the Sci-Tech Challenge is all about. We didn't want this year's STEM students to miss out on sharing their hard work and ideas. So, to make sure as many as possible could still participate, we arranged a virtual event.

ExxonMobil holds the Sci-Tech Challenge every year in partnership with Junior Achievement Europe (JA Europe). It’s part of our program to encourage students and help them build their STEM skills by using them to solve real-world problems. Although this year’s event was not competitive, students were still able to present their ideas to a panel of judges.

On this year’s panel we were lucky to have Armando Persico, winner of the Global Teacher Prize and Karel Lannoo, Chief Executive of the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), a leading think tank. The panel also included Dr. Walter Goetz – Head of Cabinet for European Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean – and Philippe Ducom, President of ExxonMobil Europe. The virtual event was chaired by Salvatore Nigro, CEO of JA Europe.

Find out what happened when the teams presented their ideas for supplying energy to a large-sctaale sporting event.