TWO teams of Scottish youngsters have been named as finalists for a £25,000 prize towards tech-based solutions for social good.
The Longitude Explorer Prize, run by Nesta Challenges in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), calls on young people aged 11-16 to create and develop solutions to some of the world’s biggest issues, including climate change, living healthier lives, and an ageing population.
One of the teams, from Baldragon Academy in Dundee, secured its place in the final with Dundee Discover AI, an app that connects to zero-emission driverless buses in order for people to move efficiently around the city while minimising their environmental impact.
The second team, from the Paisley YMCA , have developed Urban Micro Farm, which allows people to turn patches of urban wasteland into an area for growing food using artificial intelligence.
The two teams have made the final 40, out of hundreds of entries from more than 800 young people.
Other concepts competing for the prize include an app that simplifies text for students with dyslexia and learning difficulties, a robot friend for those with anxiety and autism, a robot fish that collects plastic from oceans and a T-shirt that detects heart problems.
The finalists will now compete to win the prize for their school or youth group, receiving resources and expert mentoring to develop their ideas before delivering a pitch in July.
Three runner-up teams will each also receive £10,000.
UK Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: “It is incredible to see how these young finalists have thought up innovations to tackle global challenges, from devices that detect health problems to robots which can remove plastic waste from our seas. Technological innovation is important to grow the UK economy and we are supporting young people to pursue careers in this area through schemes like this.”
Constance Agyeman, head of international development and communities at Nesta Challenges said: “It is abundantly clear that our young people are passionate about the great challenges of our time and have the capacity, creativity and power of thought to make the world a better place. Now we need to supercharge those talents by embedding entrepreneurial skills in the classroom too.”
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