Science Quest 2018 : developing Creativity and Innovation for Budding Scientists

The finals of this year’s edition of the Science Quest, which was held from the 29th to the 31st May, gathered over 400 students from around Mauritius, who stepped into the shoes of scientists. It was the Royal College Curepipe, Dr Maurice Curé SC and College du Saint Esprit which stood out as the Gold Prize Winners of the contest.

Organised for the fifth consecutive year by the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre (RGSC), parastatal body under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, the Science Quest contest invited secondary school students around the country to embrace as well as showcase their science flair. Launched since February, the contest invited students to participate in three different categories, namely Category 1 for students of Grades 7, 8 and 9, Category 2 for students of Grades 10 and 11 and Category 3 for students of Grades 12 and 13.

The finals took place from 29th to 31st May at the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre (RGSC) at Bell Village. This project-based contest aimed to raise awareness among students and encourage them to apply Science and Technology to make our lives better. The popular competition indeed attracted more than 400 students who have a passion for science. It was an opportunity for them to develop their research, communication and problem solving skills further.
This year’s competition in fact received 140 entries from around 600 students coming from about 70 secondary schools.

A screening of the entries was carried out by a panel of judges and 90 best projects were retained. The best nominees were asked to proceed with the submission of a project report with information such as project background, objectives, methodology, results and conclusions, thereby adopting best practices in scientific research. 

Most importantly, each team had the opportunity to present their projects to the public and to the judges during an exhibition at the RGSC through posters, models and prototypes. The 90 teams, of not more than four students per team, had to defend their projects in front of the jury and convince the public about the possible implementation of their innovative ideas.

Impressive and ingenious, it was not an easy task for the jury to select the winners. The participating students were assessed on criteria, namely originality of their work, scientific content of their projects, project displays, and their ability to explain the science of their projects. Students presented projects based on a range of Science and Technology themes such as recycling, energy, health, technology, physics, environmental sciences and inventions.

The Prize Giving Ceremony to award the grand winners was held at the Octave Wiehe Auditorium, Réduit, on Thursday 31st May in the presence of the Minister of Education Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun. In Category 1 for students of Grades 7, 8 and 9, the project of the students of Royal College Curepipe entitled “Blind People Walking Aid” won the Gold Prize.

In Category 2 for students of Grades 10 and 11, the project “Manufacture of Bio-detergent” presented by the team of Dr Maurice Cure State College grabbed the Gold Prize. Finally in the Category 3 dedicated to students of Grades 12 and 13, the team from College du Saint Esprit took home the Gold Prize with their project “Student Assistant App.”

The prizes for the Science Quest 2018 were sponsored by the Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd. The winning teams of each category were awarded cash prizes offered by the MCB. The winners of the Gold Prize received the cash prize of Rs 20,000, Silver Prize Rs 15,000, Bronze Prize Rs 10,000 and two Merit Prizes of Rs 4,000. Educators of winning projects were also awarded a certificate and cash prizes offered by RGSC.