By KATHRYN BERMINGHAM
THE future is looking bright, efficient and sustainable thanks to the innovative thinking of students from St Margaret’s and Berwick Grammar School.
The schools have recently taken out major prizes in the 2015 Siemens ‘Futuride’ competition – a challenge where students are asked to submit ideas on how they would power the future.
Plans needed to be presented in a short video, which was filmed and produced by a Year 12 media student.
The students worked with an artistic director to find an idea that could be portrayed through the video. The films were shot on a Sunday morning and before school.
Physics teacher Terry Trevena said the students were in control of the whole process, from the ideas to the design and eventually the video.
“My whole plan is for the kids to take control,” he said.
“The initial idea was to film what a day in the future would be like but we ended up splitting it into two main ideas.”
The St Margaret’s video featured ‘FRED’ – a facial recognition entry device that would screen everyone who enters the school. It won the Victorian People’s Choice award in the secondary category.
The Berwick Grammar School entry, which placed in the top 10 entries in Australia, detailed plans for a future powered by wireless electricity.
The schools will each receive four spin bikes with electric generators as prizes.
“In my physics room I permanently have an exercise bike with a dynamo, it’s a very valuable learning tool.
“The cycling teams will also be able to train on them – the prize was really perfect.”
There are around 80 students in the schools’ cycling groups.
