ISL Robotics Team to Represent Luxembourg at Women and Girls in STEM Forum

Daniela, Camille, and Vivian, a trio of 11th-grade students from ISL have secured a Top 3 Finalist position in the "Girls Go Circular Robotics Prototype" competition.

Their journey started when Daniela discovered the competition, which aims to foster innovation in STEM among young women. This year's challenge required teams of three to come up with a robot idea to solve an environmental issue of their choice in their school or city. Daniela convinced Vivian and Camille to join the team, and together they came up with the idea of creating a cardboard prototype of a robot designed to improve Bee Hive Health against Varroa Mites. You can find their inspiring 3-minute pitch showcasing their prototype and presenting their idea here. 

 Deciding on an idea was the hardest part, since we wanted to be unique and original.

According to Daniela, the hardest part of the project was to decide on the idea. In her own words, "We wanted it to be unique and original, but something that could help solve a specific problem here at ISL. We ended up choosing the Varroa Mites and their effect on Honeybees, and how to combat them. There is a Bee Keeping Club at ISL that has a problem with Varroa Mites in their beehives, and they do not have an efficient way to deal with the mites, let alone measure the level of infestation."

I've always been interested in engineering, and this competition has not only helped me to use that energy towards something important but also learn about how to enter the world of STEM as a woman.

For Vivian, the project was an opportunity to push herself out of her comfort zone as she states 'it's been wonderful to push myself outside of my comfort zone and really think about how I could make a difference to the environment. I've always been interested in engineering, and this competition has not only helped me to use that energy towards something important but also learn about how to enter the world of STEM as a woman. This, along with various other activities, is one of the reasons that I'm so glad I joined ISL."

When the idea was finally decided, their next step was enlisting the support of a mentor and they approached Jordan Benedict, who is the faculty leader of the ISL Robotics Club. Having previously mentored a robotics team last March who won the Luxembourg Youth Robotics Competition, Mr. Benedict proudly said "Robotics projects like Girls Go Circular truly allow our students to use their incredible breadth of learning. Obviously Science and Math, but they also need to demonstrate Design Thinking, Research Skills, Writing, Public Speaking, Collaboration, and more. It's why multidisciplinary subjects like robotics can be some of the most powerful and rewarding learning experiences at ISL for our students."

Daniela, Vivian and Camille's project was chosen to represent Luxembourg in the competition which featured entries from 20 European countries. The good news continued as they were chosen among the top 3 finalists to present their robot at the Women and Girls in STEM Forum in Brussels in front of a live audience. 

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Daniela Garcia Moreno, Vivian Lindsey, and Camille Steyer on their remarkable achievement. We wish them great success as they represent ISL and Luxembourg on this prestigious platform. 

We will be watching and supporting them on 5 December. If you'd like to watch their live presentation and join us supporting them, please visit the official website of the event and register here. After the registration, you will receive access for the live feed and the link for the 5-minute community voting window following the presentations. The student presentations will take place between 11:20 - 12:20 followed by live voting between 12:20-12:25.